It's good to talk if you want to get pregnant, scientists say
Wednesday June 21 2006
The scientists behind the research believe that psychological therapy that involves talking about a person's problems could help to boost the fertility of women who find it difficult to conceive as a result of the stress of modern life.
A study has shown that cognitive behavioural therapy - which emphasises the role of thinking about how a person feels - can significantly increase the chances of ovulation in a woman suffering from infertility.
The therapy involves identifying how negative thoughts affect someone and then looks at ways at tackling or challenging those thoughts in a positive and constructive manner.
The research was carried out on 16 women suffering from a condition called functional hypothalamic amenorrhoea, when women of normal weight have not had a menstrual period of six months or more.
Up to one in 10 women can suffer this extreme form of amenorrhoea but far more could be subfertile due the influence of stress, said Professor Sarah Berga of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
The condition is caused by a prolonged reduction in a hormone produced in the brain which should stimulate the release of further hormones into the bloodstream that trigger the ovaries to ovulate. The women also have high levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Women living a stressful life tend to compensate by dieting or undertaking vigorous exercise, which can lead to loss of weight and anovulation - the failure to ovulate. (©Independent News Service)
- Steve Connor
