Fertility Day 2023: The influence of stress on women’s fertility

In today’s life, we all spend most of our time alone, on social media, in the office to work, or completing household chores. There are many reasons to consider behind the fact that lifestyle choices account for the overall quality of health and life. Post the period of covid-19 pandemic, most people have started experiencing the importance of taking care of their mental health and how to co-op with the stress and pressure, especially at the workplace. We all are aware of an increasing number of infertility cases among young women. Hence, there are many potential health issues that men or women can suffer due to stress.

The relationship between stress and infertility has been a debatable topic for years and is still a matter of debate to discuss and understand in society. A fact that is known, however, is that stress can make it harder for women to conceive. If you or someone you know is trying to get pregnant, you may have heard simple and well-meaning advice like “Just relax, and it will happen!”, “Leave it on God, it will happen” " but the reality and truth are a bit more hard, challenging, and complex.

As per our conversation with Dr. Astha Dayal, Lead Consultant - Obstetrics & Gynecology, CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram, she mentioned that “It’s a vicious circle - first of all stress and anxiety of not getting pregnant and falling into infertility treatments and the treatments for say are also so psychologically draining that they increase the stress level. Stress hormones reduce estradiol which is the female hormone and it can hamper the egg quality also. Besides that, stress has also been shown to disturb the hormone which can cause ovulation and fertilization and implantation of the fertilized egg into the uterus. Even after getting pregnant if there is continued stress and anxiety, it can increase the risk of miscarriage and pregnancy complications.  So, women need to manage stress in their way - it could be exercise, diet, hobbies or talking to friends, therapist or complementary therapist, whatever works best for them.”

There are significant silent effects of stress on women’s fertility that have gained attention in recent years. One of the major reasons behind stress is not having a balanced work-life balance and social life. Working for hours to fulfill the work requirements, and senior’s expectations, and meet deadlines, many of the women feel stressed and pressurised at the same time.

Thus, it is becoming the need of the hour to talk about the connection between stress and fertility to empower women to take proactive steps to manage stress in their lives. It can be possible with the support of family, speaking with loved ones, managing time to balance work and life together, exercising or consulting with mental health therapists.

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