Practice of Meditation and CBT Improves Fertility Outcomes

 (Ms. Bhavani Priya Koganty, Clinical Psychologist, Milann Fertility Hospital, Bengaluru)

 

Fertility and mental health have a bidirectional relationship. When you are stressed, the delicate hormones may get imbalanced, affecting ovulation and sperm production.  And, recently, due to a lot of health factors, hectic work schedules, sedentary lifestyles, and an increased number of ARTs, the intersection of mental health and fertility has gained significant attention. It is said that during the pregnancy period, both parents should try to produce positive emotions, so that the baby can have calm and balanced growth and development.

 

Mental Health Affecting Fertility

High stress levels can disrupt or interfere with the body's hormonal balance, affecting ovulation, sperm quality, and even implantation. Chronic stress can activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which tends to increase cortisol and adrenaline, which in turn may disrupt reproductive hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and luteinizing hormone (LH).

 

Mental Health Affecting Pregnancy

It is the time when a woman goes through the phase of mood swings. Physical stress, exhaustion, metabolic changes, or the hormones progesterone and estrogen can all contribute to mood swings during pregnancy. So, now, what exactly do hormones like estrogen and progesterone do to your mood? The amount of neurotransmitters, which are molecules in the brain that control mood, can be significantly impacted by variations in your hormone levels. Estrogen and progesterone both rapidly increase during the first trimester. Estrogen is known to produce serotonin and other feel-good chemicals, so it can make you feel energized, emotional, or irritable. Whereas progesterone acts as a natural sedative, it can relax muscles to help and support pregnancy, but can also cause fatigue, sluggishness, or disconnectedness without any reason.

 

Most often, mood swings occur between weeks 6 and 10 of the first trimester, and then again in the third trimester when your body gets ready to give birth.

 

How Meditation Supports Fertility

What exactly is meditation? The practice of mindfulness involves remaining nonjudgmental while focusing on our thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and the environment around us. Techniques for developing self-awareness, relaxation, and mindfulness are frequently incorporated into the systematic practice of meditation. Despite having historical roots, these methods are popular in contemporary wellness and healthcare settings due to their significant psychological and physical advantages.

 

Benefits: Meditation, particularly mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), has been shown

● to lower cortisol levels, as high cortisol levels can interfere with the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, affecting ovulation, sperm production, and perhaps causing problems during implantation and pregnancy,

● to enhance sleep quality,

● to reduce anxiety, the body can shift from a fight-or-flight state to a rest-and-digest mode, and

● to promote better hormonal balance and improved blood flow to reproductive organs.

 

Meditation may not "cure" infertility, but it can certainly support the body’s natural rhythm and help couples cope with the emotional burden of treatment.

 

CBT and Fertility

Human beings believe in evidence-backed subjects more. Therefore, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach that helps individuals identify negative thought patterns and behaviors. And then helps to adopt healthier coping mechanisms. It helps to restructure our negative thought patterns by developing more balanced and realistic perspectives.

 

Reducing stress can improve the conditions for conception, even if CBT has no direct effect on the physiologic mechanisms involved in fertility. Stress can have a detrimental effect on hormone levels and reproductive health. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps enhance total quality of life, including self-esteem, marital relationships, and social functioning, by addressing the psychological effects of infertility.

 

Advances in reproductive medicine indeed continue to improve success rates. And mind-body therapies should not be seen as replacements for medical fertility treatments. But, yes,  meditation and CBT have the potential to restore a sense of control and enhance fertility outcomes by addressing the mental and emotional well-being. India, still in this century, faces the cultural pressures around conception that can intensify emotional distress. Also, couples undergoing ARTs or who have gone through several failed attempts face mental and physical distress.  Therefore, holistic support is needed at the hour.