Everyone's heard the story about the couple who were having difficulty conceiving, but after going on a relaxing holiday… hey presto, they discovered they were expecting.
Well meaning advice, to just 'relax and let it happen' can be extremely frustrating to hear, when you’ve been trying your best to do just that, yet there is no sign of a baby! And what does 'relax' mean exactly? Does it mean you’re wasting your time at the gym and should be meditating instead?
What stress does to the body and how it COULD impact baby-making
Having an appropriate and efficient response to stressful stimuli is vital to our survival. This evolutionary instinct to survive can actually interfere with trying to conceive because if your body feels ‘threatened’, it will produce adrenal hormones, not reproductive hormones.
For women, stress can lead to irregular periods, erratic ovulation, reduced blood flow to the reproductive organs (fight or flight response) or poor digestion (leading to reduced absorption of vital nutrients).
While in men, various stressors can affect sperm quality – reduced blood flow to the testes or varicocele, physical stress (sports injury) or oxidative stress due to poor diet and lifestyle (free radicals attacking the sperm).
Things, like moving house, bereavement, turbulent relationships or working long hours are widely acknowledged forms of stress. Less commonly known, but just as important to your fertility, are:
- Environmental stressors (endocrine disrupting chemicals)
- Chronic lack of sleep (6 hours per night, is not enough, aim for 7-9 hours)
- Inadequate antioxidant intake (5 fruit & veg per day minimum, it should be closer to 7-9 if you can manage it)
In many cases, it’s not a question of finding better ways to ‘relax' but rather, to figure out what is the true underlying cause of stress to see if it can be addressed.
Things like finding a new job, staying away from social media at night, so you get more sleep or adding a green smoothie or juice to your daily diet to bump up your nutrient intake.
Should I supplement with DHEA?
A worrying trend has emerged within fertility circles over the last few years where women who have read about DHEA are either self-prescribing and ordering it online, or are putting pressure on their consultant to prescribe it for them. This hormone is known to decline with age, which is why women over 40, going through IVF are likely to hear about it. It's known as a ‘mother’ hormone because other hormones are derived from it.
It’s true that DHEA has an impact on the female sex hormones, but if you haven’t had your levels tested properly, you may just be adding fuel to the fire – in certain cases it can work very well while in others it can be extremely detrimental. For women who already have PCOS, it would lead to an increased build-up of testosterone, leading to poor follicular growth and diminished egg quality.
If you are truly experiencing declining DHEA levels (verified by testing), you may benefit from low dose DHEA supplementation but only with direct supervision by your consultant.
Jessica Bourke is a Natural Fertility Specialist who deals with all aspects of reproductive health. Her clinical approach is based on evidence-based nutrition protocols, acupuncture treatment, and she also offers functional lab tests to support you on your journey to parenthood. She's a regular contributor to Irish media and co-author of the 'Guilt Free Gourmet' cook-book. As a Mum of two, Jessica understands the challenges of pregnancy and parenting. For more, visit jessicabourke.com.
