Stress is nonproductive

Shobha Gupta 

Infertility is a term used to explain the inability of a woman to conceive after at least two years of constant efforts. Both stress and infertility are co-related terms. Whether stress can cause infertility or infertility causes stress has always generated a controversial debate.  A new research conducted in US says stress causes infertility in women. 

Factors contributing to stress which causes infertility are:

• Marital disturbance.
• Job or business stress.
• Stress related to target completion.
• Financial issues.
• Personal injury or illness.
• Death of close family member.
• Late marriages.

When diagnosed with infertility, many couples feel helpless and no longer in control of their bodies or their life plan. They become stressed.

On the other hand, Men, who work in night shifts, are affected more as compared to men working in morning shifts with infertility as their biological clock is very badly disturbed. They sleep during the day and to keep themselves awake, they often smoke, which damages the system further. The stress at work place and sitting for long hours at work stations is also found to reduce the sperm count.

 Women with hectic jobs are most at risk. Many are in denial about the stress in their lives. Kanak Oberoi (name changed), 30, working with an IT company, experienced her first miscarriage due to work-related stress. This was   discovered in counseling sessions. 

  Stress not only causes infertility, it is one of the reasons for weight gain too. Many times stress may mess up our brain’s reward system and may cause us to crave more fat and sugar laden stuff. In fact, consuming high fat foods is more likely to lead to weight gain. Also, when we are stressed, we are more likely to opt for comfort or fast food, rather cooking a meal.

Stress is one of the major causes of obesity. In fact, stress even makes it difficult to lose weight. Stress puts the body in ‘fight or flight’ mode from an evolutionary perspective and activates the sympathetic nervous system. This leads to the production of fat-promoting hormones viz cortisol and insulin that leads to weight gain. It also disrupts body’s hunger-regulating hormones causing one to eat more.

All these factors contributing in weight gain which results in obesity which further results in infertility. So, here stress is the major culprit.

Women are often more stressed than men. Trying to get pregnant adds more pressure on already stressed women. While there is treatment available for infertility through IVF or IUI but stress management techniques and other lifestyle changes should be tried first to overcome this problem.

—   The writer is Medical Director and IVF specialist, Mother’s Lap IVF Centre, New Delhi

Fear files

• An estimated one in seven couple in India have fertility problems and mostly there is no known medical explanation
• It is believed that 10 per cent of the general population suffers from some form of infertility.
• India has a population of over 1.2 billion; the number of Indians suffering from infertility is huge.
• Of every 100 couples reporting to fertility clinics, 40 per cent are cases of male infertility, 50 per cent are of women, and the remaining 10 per cent of both partners being infertile.
• Sitting for long hours at work stations are also contributing to infertility
• Too much stress may cause infertility among women, says a new research conducted in US
• Women with high levels of stress were 29 per cent less likely to get pregnant each month than those women with lower levels, the researchers found.