Stress...

[SadieM]

I was wondering what other people know about the effects of stress on trying to get pregnant? All the consultants we have seen have never spoken to us about this.

I am currently VERY stressed. My Dad died 6 months ago (he was an alcoholic and basically drank himself to death), and the fallout within my family as a result has been fairly time consuming and stressful. I am also trying to do an Open University course which requires me to do 16 hours a week study on top of working full time and various other commitments. Next week I am due to have IUI for the first time and of course TTC is pretty stressful in itself.

DH is desperate for me to quit the OU course as I am finding it very hard, and he feels that we are not giving IUI a proper chance if I am always this stressed. Has anyone else de-stressed their life in order to help with TTC?

 

[Mrs R]

Oh hun, big hugs to you. TTC is very stressful, but personally I haven't cut anything out of my life that I enjoy doing for the sake of ttc but i need these things to keep me going when im stressed.

Some people are happy to do this and if it works for you then that's fab. But I could be ttc for God knows how long, and don't feel i can put my life om hold while I do so

x

 

[BigFoot1980]

I agree with Mrs R, don't put your life on hold. But on the other hand things that do cause you stress should be minimized. All the books I have read on Fertility have a section about stress. Also my doctor did mention it to me that stress can decrease our chances of conceiving.

I know its easy to tell some one to relax but hard to do. I haven't figured out how to relax yet
Good luck for your IUI.

 

[CareBear]

I do agree with not putting your life on hold whilst TTCing but from what you've said it sounds like you need to put in some de-stressing activites and try to relax a little. I personally changed my job to a less stressful one as I felt that my highly stressful job was having a negative effect on TTC. However whilst that hasn't led to a BFP yet I do feel much better in myself for not being so stressed out

 

[CurlySue]

At IVF open evening I attended recently they said that whilst stress is not good for the body in all events, there is nothing to suggest it prevents pregnancy, which is why those "relax" comments are so completely irrelevant.

Stress can hamper ovulation. That's all. You would have to be *seriously* stressed for that to happen though, he was saying, so whilst it is a stressful time the stress itself is not going to make matters any worse.

 

[latestarter]

I agree with everyone. I don't think stress will stop you from getting pregnant unless it is the cause for not ovulating. People get pregnant living in countries where there is more stress than we could imagine (war, famine, poverty). So I wouldn't cut anything out that you really enjoy because you are ttc. That alone could cause more stress.

But if you are overly stressed, it may be time to make some changes - just for quality of life.

Before I started ttc, I left a highly stressful job, into one with less pay, but better quality of life. Not just because I'm ttc, but because when the little one comes along (and he/she will!) I'm not stressed out before I even begin.

Good luck!!