Skip to main content

Managing Infertility Stress


It has been researched and shown that women undergoing infertility treatment report the same level of stress, anxiety, and depression as women who have cancer, HIV, or heart disease. Chronic stress can lead to depression and lower resistance to disease. Acute stressors cause increased heart rate, sweating, and rapid breathing — the “fight or flight” response. Internal stressors are harder to control than external ones. For example you can’t “make” a cycle work, but you can change doctors or clinics if you are unhappy with the medical care you are receiving.
Research has shown that chronic stress causes the hormone cortisol to rise and blood flow to the uterus may be decreased, which could impact implantation of a fertilized embryo

Why Is Infertility Stressful?
  • Infertility is a loss of control of your body
  • Infertility is a loss of your life plan
  • Infertility lowers self esteem
  • Infertility can feel like a roller coaster ride; the on-going effects can cause stress and exhaustion
  • Infertility tests and treatments are expensive and in most countries not covered by insurance. In vitro fertilization can cost up to R55,000 a cycle
  • Treatments are not always successful. IVF has approximately a 30 percent live birth rate per cycle
  • Hormone treatments can cause mood swings
  • Undergoing infertility treatment feels like a full-time job. It often involves scheduling tests, treatments, and appointments around other obligations
  • While undergoing infertility treatment, the rest of your life and your goals may be put on hold, sometimes for months or years


Ways to Reduce Stress
  • Recognize that infertility is a life crisis, and get support from others.
  • Reduce other stressors in your life while undergoing infertility treatment. Learn to say “no” if you are overwhelmed.
  • Consider practicing yoga, meditating, or having acupuncture or massage
  • Make a list of all the things you have put on hold while you’ve been waiting to have a baby. Select a few that you will start working on now.
  • If you feel depressed, consider seeing a therapist or counselor
  • Take control where you can. Become an informed consumer. Understand your medical situation and learn how to communicate well with your medical team.

www.giftovlife.com
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 16, 2013 at 7:16 PM

    It really hurts when you want to have a child, yet find that you are unable to conceive. IVF is an option, however, many couples cannot afford the high costs of IVF. Here are some options I have found, that you may not know of that would greatly help with the costs of IVF treatment.

    IVF Cost

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Becoming An Egg Donor: Why Your BMI And Health Matters To Us

The women who choose to become egg donors come to us from all walks of life to help others realise their dream of starting a family. We’re honoured to support them on their journey to becoming egg donors. As part of your egg donation journey, you need to be a non-smoker, aged between 21-and 32, and be able to provide your full family medical history and BMI. We're often asked about BMI and its role in egg donation. In this blog, we've highlighted the importance of having a healthy BMI, why is it set to a specific range to become an egg donor, and how our team at Manchester Donors is here to support you.   What is BMI? The body mass index (BMI) is a way of measuring if you’re a healthy weight based on your height and mass. It divides your weight in kilograms, by your height in metres squared, to give a height-to-weight ratio. ( BMI calculator ) A BMI score isn’t a complete reflection of your overall health. However, it is a good guide that can help you make sure your B...
Post a Comment
Read more

Using donor eggs

We have worked with thousands of patients for infertility and in need of egg donors. Third-party reproduction, or using a third party such as an egg donor in order to have a baby, has always been a special passion of ours.   Over the years, we have heard many questions and concerns about the process. Apart from same-sex couples who know third party reproduction is a necessary part of their journey, most individuals and couples never envisaged the need to have assistance in having a child. Here are some tips and some advice from us to you in the hope that should you need assistance in becoming, you can decide what choice is best for you.   The mourning process. Accepting your diagnosis and learning that the plan of a biological child may not be possible is a deeply personal one. The response will vary from couple to couple and partner to partner, but it takes time before any decisions are made. Some patients take a break, even if just for a month, to take some time to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fertility tourism becoming trendy and more affordable

Take a quick vacation and come home pregnant! In the world of assisted fertility, in-vitro fertilization (IVF) is nothing new. Especially for females that are 40 and over, donor egg IVF, where eggs from a younger, more fertile donor are fertilized with the partner’s sperm, cultivated and then transferred to the prospective mom’s uterus – is often the only hope for achieving pregnancy. But for couples whose health insurance doesn’t cover infertility, the costs of these treatments can be prohibitively expensive; IVF with an egg donor costs an average of R50,000. That’s per try, pregnant or not pregnant at the outcome. So increasingly, fertility tourism is becoming more and more popular for couples and they are seeking international options in their quest for a baby.  They are looking into countries where the medical technology is on par with theirs and the costs are significantly less. Foreign couples can mix purpose with pleasure by making t...
1 comment
Read more