Coping with stress in infertility


Infertility treatment

Despite the awareness about the advanced technologies with high success rate in infertility treatment, couples fail to share their story with friends and family. Inability to conceive naturally inculcate the feeling of shame, guilt and low self-esteem. These negative feelings may lead to varying degrees of depression, anxiety, distress & poor quality of life making susceptible to become part of a high risk group for psychiatric disorders. So it is important to recognize and assist these couples as they deal with their infertility diagnosis and treatment.

In the process of getting evaluated during treatment, women are more prone to become psychologically vulnerable due the stress and medication. The further into the treatment the woman goes, the more often they display symptoms of depression and anxiety. Studies have shown that woman with repeated treatments had significant higher levels of anxiety and more likely to drop out after one cycle.

Many studies have investigated the relationship between psychological symptoms prior to and during ART cycle and pregnancy rates, with conflicting results. Some have shown that the more distressed a woman is prior to treatment and during treatment, the lower the pregnancy rates. Thus it is utmost important to alleviate psychological stress prior and during the infertility treatment to get the positive outcome with high success rate.
The goal of stress reduction is to minimize stress, by finding the technique that serves the patient needs the best.

Some of popular methods recommended to fertility patients are:

Acupuncture-

Acupuncture stimulates the body's natural feel good hormones like cortisol. Studies have shown that acupuncture is effective treatment for anxiety, with fewer side effects than medications.

Support counselling-

Support counselling aims to give emotional support to patient experiencing distress. Emotional support should be a part of any patient centered care and treatment. It should specifically focus on the resources patients themselves have in coping with emotional distress and on working with new strategies of coping and managing stressful situations.

Music therapy-

The complementary therapy of music is known to reduce patient anxiety and stress levels before undergoing IVF treatment.

Meditation and aromatherapy-

With meditation, you can practice calming techniques and help your mind focus on the present and reduce stress.
Aromatherapy has been shown to be very beneficial for infertility. Essential oils like Clary, Sage, Lavender, Rose , Geranium are believed to support healthy hormone balance and improve fertility.

Yoga-

It consists of rhythmic breathing and stretching, which can help you to feel more relaxed in your mind and body. During IVF, gentle types of yoga should be done.

Take a walk-

Benefits of exercise , when it come to stress reduction is well known. Walking is an excellent form of gentle exercise. It reduces stress by releasing chemicals from brain which improve your mood and help you feel refreshed and energetic.

Keep a gratitude journal-

Focus on the positive is a good way to lower stress. When you are feeling down with anxiety or negativity, focus on things that make you feel grateful. Keeping a gratitude journal is an excellent way to become mindful of appreciating the good things in your life.

Family support-

Family members should be compassionate and understanding, respecting the privacy of couples. Keep in mind that the couple may need time and space to feel the range of thoughts and emotions. Couples can talk with their family members or friends with whom they have comfort level and make them understand how you need to be treated.

In your journey to conception, one of the best way to reduce stress is to have a caring and experienced fertility team. We at Rainbow Birthright and Fertility at Vijayawada , provide caring treatment and required assistance in your journey to parenthood.