Every woman struggling with infertility has heard the advice, "Relax!" Usually this is followed by a string of expletives, at least in the woman's mind.
Well, research out of Emory University is indicating that stress really might be the cause of infertility for a significant number of women. The Corpus Callosum breaks it down in detail, most of it scientifical-like. Here's the helpful summary part, though I think it is worth going through all the scientifical part:
[R]egulation of the main hormones that control the menstrual cycle comes from the pituitary. The pituitary is controlled by the hypothalamus, which is part of the brain. The hypothalamus is controlled by input from a variety of sources. The transmitters involved include dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, endorphins, glutamate, and aspartate.
It follows that a profound dysfunction in any of those transmitter systems can have an effect on fertility. Stress, of course, can affect many of those transmitter systems. So it would not be terribly surprising to find that stress can have a negative effect on reproduction.
One irony here, is that infertility is often treated by massive doses of hormones. That in itself can be stressful. (If that is not obvious, take my word for it, or better yet, talk to someone who's been through it.) So in a way, hormone treatment is inherently an uphill battle. You may succeed in forcing some on the hormones to do what the textbook says they should do, but in so doing, you actually add to the stress that probably is the root of the problem to begin with.
So, I do not know how what the response rate would be, if cognitive-behavioral therapy were tried for the entire population of women with FHA [functional hypothalamic amenorrhea, or stress-related lack of menstruation--L], but it sure would be nice if it turned out that a simple, elegant, and inexpensive treatment could eliminate the need for much of the expensive and stressful hormone treatment that currently is being used.
Wouldn't it just, though? I never went the fertility treatment route--Louisa came along and ended both my secondary infertility and my ability to have more kids in one fell swoop, the stinker--but I know enough friends who've gone through it to have heard about the hell hormone treatment can be.
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