Fertility Research
How can Hypnotherapy Help you Conceive?
Trying to conceive, and any
treatments required, can be stressful, invasive, and take a toll on your wellbeing. However, numerous studies have explored the
impact of hypnotherapy and mind-body programs on fertility outcomes, showing
that not only can hypnotherapy increase the chances of pregnancy, but it can
also help reduce stress, improve reproductive functioning, and enhance
emotional wellbeing:
Hypnotherapy can double IVF success
In this study the group of women who received hypnosis
before and during IVF embryo implantation achieved a remarkable 53% pregnancy rate
and experienced reduced anxiety levels during the fertility treatment
process. The group who did not receive
hypnotherapy had a 30% pregnancy rate. (Levitas, 2006)
Hypnotherapy significantly improves pregnancy success rates and reproductive health
A study of women who had struggled with infertility
for 2-12 years found that after an average of nine hypnotherapy sessions 65% went
on to have successful full-term pregnancies, and 42% (including several who
didn't achieve pregnancy during the study) reported improvements in menstrual
and gynaecological issues (Quinn & Parson, 1994)
Hypnotherapy can reduce stress, enhance feelings of control and manage issues that may be contributing to infertility
Exploring clinical
hypnotherapy as a method to enhance fertility, this study found that
hypnotherapy can reduce stress, enhance feelings of control, as well as manage
psycho-emotional issues that may be contributing to infertility (James, 2009)
Mind-Body programs with relaxation training and emotional wellbeing techniques can significantly increase success rate of IVF
Led by Alice Domar, this study reveals that participating in a mind/body program like self-hypnosis or
meditation during IVF treatment significantly boosts pregnancy rates. Alice Domar has conducted extensive research
into stress and fertility, and is considered a pioneer of mind-body medicine
research. This study showed that women
who practiced stress reduction and emotional wellbeing techniques had a
success rate of 52% compared to 20% in the control group. These findings
suggest a strong connection between stress levels and IVF outcomes, emphasizing
the potential benefits of therapies that focus on stress reduction and
emotional wellbeing (Domar et al, 2011)
Stress hormones can inhibit hormones crucial to fertility, and psychological interventions can restore ovarian function
This study showed that cortisol (a primary stress hormone) can
inhibit the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) which can
negatively affect ovulation and menstrual cycles. It went on to examine women suffering from amenorrhea
(the absence of menstruation) and found that 80% of the women who received
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) started to ovulate again, compared to 25%
in the control group, and follow-up tests showed lower cortisol levels and
higher GnRH. (Berga & Loucks, 2006)
Mind-Body programs can alleviate anxiety and depression, and increase pregnancy rates in infertile woman
Analysing the effects
of the mind–body programs (including hypnosis) on anxiety, depression, quality
of life, and pregnancy rates in infertile women, the researchers found that mind-body programs
positively affect the pregnancy rate, relieve anxiety and depression, and
improve quality of life. (Ha & Ban,2021)
Stress significantly reduces probability of conception during the fertile window - Relax is key
Stress biomarkers
were measured in women trying to conceive, with researchers finding stress
significantly reduced the probability of conception each day during the fertile
window, leading them to conclude that relaxation and minimising stressors play
a key role in achieving pregnancy. (Louis et al, 2011)
Mind Stress can increase the time it takes to get pregnant, and increase the risk of infertility
This study concluded
that high levels of stress were associated with longer time-to-pregnancy and
increased infertility risk, and that it would be prudent to consider the role
of stress for couples who are failing to get pregnant despite 6 months or
longer of targeted (in the fertile window) intercourse. (Lynch et al, 2014)
References
Berga, S.L. & Loucks, T.L. (2006), “Use of Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea”. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1092, pp 114-129
Domar, A.D., Rooney, K.L., Wiegand, B., Oray, E.J, Alper, B.M., & Nikolovski, J. (2011) Impact of a group mind/body intervention on pregnancy rates in IVF patients. In Vitro Fertilization, Vol 95 (7) pp2269-2273
James, U. (2009) “Practical uses of clinical hypnosis in enhancing fertility, healthy pregnancy and childbirth”. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 15(4), pp. 239-241
Levitas E, Parmet A, Lunenfeld E, Bentov Y, Burstein E, Friger M, Potashnik G. (2006) “Impact of hypnosis during embryo transfer on the outcome of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer: a case-control study”. Fertility and Sterility. May;85(5), pp1404-1408
Louis, G. M., Lum, K. J., Sundaram, R., Chen, Z., Kim, S., Lynch, C. D., Schisterman, E. F., & Pyper, C. (2011). “Stress reduces conception probabilities across the fertile window: evidence in support of relaxation”. Fertility and sterility, 95(7), pp2184–2189
Lynch, C.D, Sundaram, R., Maisog, J.M., Sweeney, A.M., & Buck Louis, G.M. (2014) “Preconception stress increases the risk of infertility: results from a couple-based prospective cohort study – the LIFE study”. Human Reproduction, Vol 29 (5) pp1067-1075
Quinn, P. D. R and Parson, M.
(1994) “Conceptions of the mind – the role of hypnotherapy interventions in
medically-unexplained, functional and psychosomatic infertility”. European Journal of Clinical Hypnosis 4(1)
pp8-17
If you'd like to find out how hypnotherapy could help you optimise your mind and body for fertility