Stress and TTC

[collieflower]

Does anyone have any stories or advice to share about getting pregnant (or not getting pregnant!) under intense stress? For my first three pregnancies (two of which ended in miscarriage) I was able to get pregnant in 1-3 months. However, we have been TTC for over 12 months now, and are having no luck whatsoever.

We’ve had all kinds of testing done (blood tests for hormones, clotting, etc), tubes checked, fluid ultrasound, sperm, etc and everything seems to be in good order. We’ve tried acupuncture, homeopathy, and the gamut of alternative therapies.

We’ve wondered all along if the problem may be stress-related. I started a new job just before we started the current round of TTC and the job is ridiculously busy and demanding. It also requires quite a bit of travel.

Soooo-I was wondering if anyone had managed to get pregnant under similar circumstances? And if so, if you have any tips for me. I currently use acupuncture, yoga and counselling to handle the stressload. Or whether anyone had been in similar circumstances and decided to throw in the towel (at work, that is) and then managed to get pregnant? There is so much conflicting information about whether stress affects efforts TTC, and of course there are many stories (my friends among them) of people who got pregnant immediately upon getting out of a stressful situation.

[TheDivineMrsM]

My cousin found out she was pregnant right around the same time her father found out his cancer had come back. Her dad spent the next several months in and out of hospitals, undergoing all kinds of nasty procedures, etc. Her grandmother fell ill as well. Her father and grandmother died within a week of each other... and her son was born four days later. He's a healthy, happy little boy of five now.

I know everyone's favorite line is to "just relax and it'll happen," but my cousin's story always made me reject that piece of advice. Travel can delay O, but I don't think it would eliminate it completely. Same with work issues. It's impossible to have a completely stress-free life, and you sound like you're dealing with your challenges in a healthy way.

If you've been trying for a year and have had prior miscarriages, you may want to contact an RE anyway, just to eliminate possible fertility health issues. But I don't think that the stressors you listed are enough to keep you from getting pg. JMO though.

[MaerynPearl]

the one way that stress can cause you to not get pregnant is if you are so stressed that you don't ovulate. Past that, its not healthy but it wont keep you from getting pregnant.

It really doesn't hurt to de-stress yourself though, your body could really use it and its healthier once you do get pregnant not to be stressed.

[collieflower]

DH and I met with an RE (for the first time) this week and asked him about stress and difficulty conceiving. He told us that the research is not conclusive, but he said that it's a topic in which he is very interested, and his feeling is that yes, stress can cause problems conceiving.

[MrsTC]

Of course it can cause problems conceiving, because it affects all aspects of your life.

If you're always going, often separated from your partner, you lose the opportunity for as deep of a connection. You may not get to be intimate as often. You may eat less healthfully, less mindfully....

Are you busy or stressed? There is a difference.

Stress, actual physical response to worry and drama, does affect hormone functioning in the body. Depression does too. So do a whole list of other things. It sounds like you are doing what you can to counteract the effects of stress in your world.

I think that miscarriages are our babies' ways of checking in with us and letting us know they're coming but not right now. You could cut back your stress/busy and see what happens.

[Tkgrl88]

I think there is a point where if you are that stressed out then the job is no longer helping you and anything that happens after quitting (getting pregnant right away) is just an awesome bonus..!