May 03, 2018

Psychological Factors Affecting Fertility

Almost all women assume that they will be able to have children someday, even if they’re not sure they want to; the potential to have them is important even to women who never intend to use that potential. The ability to conceive and bear children can profoundly affect the way a woman feels about herself on a very deep level.

Though the mind/body connection in infertility has been appreciated for decades, only recently has this important link begun to be explored more seriously. As our society has become more technologically focused, the study of the mind/body connection in infertility holds the potential to help many couples, and a thorough psychological interview should be a routine part of every fertility investigation.

Almost every obstetrician-gynecologist has two special categories of women-patients:

with no health problems, but unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant;
trying to carry a child, but unable because of one or more miscarriages.

In both cases, women often need psychological help. It is perinatal psychologist, who can help these patients cope with psychological infertility, which interferes with a woman’s ability to become a mother.

Psychological causes of infertility

Violations of reproductive functions can be caused by psychosomatic disorders or disturbances in the emotional sphere. Infertility is the inability to have offspring. Such a diagnosis is made if efforts to become pregnant does not lead to success within 2 years of constant sexual activity. If women’s multiple attempts end in miscarriages, it is also a sign of infertility.

Men as well as women can be infertile. According to the latest data, infertility occurs in about 10% of couples. Infertility has a serious impact on the couple. It causes depression, anxiety. Infertility causes decreased self-esteem and increases feelings of guilt and shame in women, thus adversely affecting the spousal relationship, especially sexual. Infertility contributes to the rethinking and re-evaluation of life plans and social roles in the family.

According to WHO, in 40−50% of cases, the cause of infertility is the pathology of the reproductive system. Still stress and other psychological reasons are among the main causes of infertility, both female and male. The connection between emotional and physical health can be illustrated by the following:

severe emotional stress increases the body’s susceptibility to diseases;
chronic stress leads to a hidden depression and suppression of the immune system, which, in turn, increases the susceptibility to disease and the development of various dysfunctions.

Emotional stress and depression not only suppress the immune system, but also lead to hormonal disorders. These abnormalities may contribute to the emergence of secondary disorders of the internal organs just at the moment when the body needs stable health condition.

Common psychological reasons of infertility

According to many psychologists, psychological infertility has a protective character in response to some negative factors. Thus, some external factors can cause psychological infertility:

absence of own dwelling;
career orientation;
internal fears about impending parenthood;
instability of family relationships;
lack of confidence in a partner;
deep psychological trauma in childhood;
unwillingness to have a baby.

How to get rid of psychological infertility?

Pregnancy and possibility of having healthy offspring will come as soon as the couple reassess their values. You should change your attitude to pregnancy. The couple should:

pass the required tests and examinations to ensure that they have no health problems of reproductive system;
admit all the fears about pregnancy, childbirth and infant care;
find the source of these fears;
analyze the causes of all the fears and get rid of them;
stop concentrating on a strong desire to become pregnant,
stop thinking about the process of conception as your daily work;
stop focusing on possible negative outcomes of pregnancy;
find positive examples of women who didn’t lose their beauty and career after birth and didn’t turn into a desperate housewives.

Consult your perinatal psychologist

Psychological infertility is a problem impossible to conceal. The more a woman thinks about her problem, the harder her rehabilitation will be. So visit your perinatal psychologist as soon as possible.

It’s difficult to cope with psychological infertility alone and without professional help. Your perinatal psychologist and obstetrician-gynecologist should work together to help you.

If you have no problems with physical health, you can get rid of psychological infertility by identifying and analyzing the true causes that prevent you from becoming a mother or a father. Confidential conversations with your perinatal psychologist is the first step on the path to a planned pregnancy. One visit to this specialist won’t be enough. The number of visits is individual in each case. Only in the process of cooperation with your obstetrician-gynecologist and perinatal psychologist, you can achieve positive result — your long-awaited pregnancy.

In the period of treatment, try to rest more. Avoid stressful situations. Sometimes, muscle tension helps relieve psychological stress. Start doing your morning exercises! If you are being treated for psychological infertility, but feel that you can’t trust your doctor or perinatal psychologist, change them. You should believe in successful results of treatment.

It’s difficult to cope with psychological infertility alone and without professional help. Your perinatal psychologist and obstetrician-gynecologist should work together to help you.

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SOURCE:
https://mother-top.com/psychological-infertility-causes-and-treatment/

https://www.drnorthrup.com/psychological-factors-affecting-fertility/