Does Stress Lead to Infertility?
Created: 08/16/2022, 06:00
By: Janine Napirca
Do you want to get pregnant, but you just can't fulfill your desire to have children?
Could too much stress be the cause of infertility?
If you're desperately trying to have a child, you probably often hear advice such as "don't be so determined", "take it easy", "take it easy" and don't "get stressed".
Infertility can cause stress - but can stress also be a cause of infertility?
Read below to find out whether stress is responsible for the fact that you have not yet become pregnant or what other reasons could be behind it.
The belief that stress causes infertility has been around for centuries
As early as the fifth century BC, Hippocrates of Kos claims to have observed a connection between a woman's psychological state and her ability to reproduce, as
Endokrinologie.net
reports.
The Greek doctor, whom every doctor swears by today, is said to have assumed that psychological stress can cause infertility in women.
Hildegard von Bingen, one of the most important universal scholars of the Middle Ages, also saw infertility as a result of "melancholy".
Does Stress Lead to Infertility?
An unfulfilled desire to have children can have many causes.
© HalfPoint/Imago
Science disagrees on whether stress causes infertility
Various studies conducted by different scientists have shown divergent results.
<em>24vita.de</em> reported that, according to a study by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical in the USA, stressed couples were less likely to become pregnant during in vitro fertilization, while a meta-study by Cardiff University in Wales confirmed that came to the conclusion that emotional stress does not determine whether artificial insemination is successful.
Even with the assumption that stress can affect sperm quality, different studies sometimes come to contradictory conclusions.
How does stress affect sex hormones?
Normally, according to
Invitra.de,
FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinizing hormone) are responsible for the growth and release of egg cells, while estrogen and progesterone regulate the menstrual cycle and prepare the uterine lining to receive the embryo.
According to the report, however, persistent fear, for example, can influence the hormonal control taking place in the brain, because the stress hormone cortisol can affect FSH and LH: a reduced release can lead to the absence of menstruation, an increased release to anovulation (lack of release of egg cells from the ovary).
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Elevated cortisol levels can also affect estrogen and progesterone levels.
As a result, the follicles do not receive enough hormones to grow and mature appropriately and libido decreases.
Furthermore, according to Invitra, FSH and LH regulate testosterone secretion in the testes.
Hormone fluctuations caused by anxiety, for example, can lead to increased cortisol levels, which also affect testosterone production and thus sperm production.
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What are possible causes of infertility?
The causes of infertility are probably as diverse as humanity itself. While it has so far been scientifically controversial whether stress is one of the reasons for the unfulfilled desire to have children, there are some other factors that can negatively influence a potential pregnancy.
According to gynecologists online
, these reasons can be
behind infertility:
Drug use
: Alcohol and nicotine as well as illegal drugs and environmental toxins have a negative impact on female and male fertility.
Semen production may decrease and ovulation may not occur.
BMI (Body Mass Index)
: Young women who are overweight or underweight or who are on questionable diets can experience menstrual cycle disorders that make their own bodies temporarily infertile.
Overexertion
: Competitive sports or heavy physical work can also cause fertility disorders.
Lifestyle
: The later the planning of children is brought to mind, for example through a career, the worse the conditions for a pregnancy are - the number of egg cells decreases continuously and they get older.
As a result, there may be disturbances in the maturation of the oocytes or a weakness of the corpus luteum.
Hormone imbalances
: Hormone imbalances can lead to insufficient egg cells maturing, ovulation not occurring, the lining of the uterus not being adequately prepared for implantation of an embryo, or the cervical mucus changing its consistency in such a way that it prevents sperm from moving up into the uterus.
Hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism or a disturbed insulin metabolism due to diabetes, for example, can also negatively affect egg cell maturation, as can an increased level of the hormone prolactin.
In addition, sperm quality can be impaired by chromosomal abnormalities such as Klinefelter syndrome because not enough male hormones are released.
Organic causes
: Blocked fallopian tubes, uterine adhesions, endometriosis, benign tumors in the uterus, blocked or immobile fallopian tubes, or cysts can cause infertility.
Inflammation, infections or operations as well as infectious sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia can also be responsible for infertility.
Injury or inflammation can also cause the testicles to become detached from the bloodstream and produce antibodies against your own sperm, rendering them inoperable.
Injury and inflammation, as well as cystic fibrosis or a chlamydial infection, can cause seminal ducts to become blocked.
Decreased Sperm Production or Quality
: One of the most common causes of infertility is decreased sperm quality.
If less than a third of the sperm in the ejaculate shows normal appearance and more than half show restricted mobility, this indicates infertility.
A hereditary reduced sperm production can also render infertile.
Testicular dysfunction
: Caused, for example, by postpubertal mumps disease or a testicular infection, testicular dysfunction can lead to infertility.
In addition, testicles should not be permanently overheated or hypothermic or affected by circulatory disorders.