Therapy Can Help Stress-Related Infertility: Study

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Therapy Can Help Stress-Related Infertility: Study

(June 20, 2006) -- Stresses of everyday life can cause infertility but behavioral therapy can help, an American researcher said on Tuesday.

Instead of resorting to expensive drugs, Professor Sarah Berga, of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, has shown that reducing stress through a combination of measures can restore ovulation and fertility.

"Stress really can be a cause of infertility, in men and in women, and it can be managed," Berga said at a fertility conference.

"But by managing it you improve your fertility."

Berga said a combination of small stresses can cause amenorrhea, a lack of monthly periods and ovulation, which has previously been associated with under-nutrition and excessive exercise.

"The collection of small stresses is worse for your fertility ... than one big stress," she added.

In a small pilot study, she and her team tested the impact of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) on women of normal weight who had suffered from amenorrhea for more than six months. They confirmed the women were stressed by measuring levels of cortisol. Amounts of the hormone increase during stress.

The women were divided into two groups. Half received CBT, which consisted of coaching on nutrition, exercise and ways to reduce stress, for 20 weeks and half had no therapy.

"A staggering 80 percent of the women who received CBT started to ovulate again, as opposed to only 25 percent of those randomized to observations," said Berga, adding that their levels of cortisol had also dropped.

Two women who received CBT became pregnant shortly after finishing the treatment.

An estimated five to 10 percent of women suffer from amenorrhea, about half of which is thought to be related to stress.

"So at any one time, five percent of the women in the world of reproductive age have stress-related amenorrhea," Berga said.

She added that CBT offers a holistic treatment that is safe, cost effective and easy-to-implement. The researchers are planning a larger study to confirm their results.

Source: Reuters

Last updated: 06/06

Therapy Can Help Stress-Related Infertility: Study

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