One great thing about celebrities is that no part of their life is private. This allows them to become spokespeople for raising awareness about health issues. The latest baby-related celeb news concerns Jennifer Aniston postponing her wedding. Most of us might consider postponing conception until after the wedding, but Aniston’s doctors have asked her to do just the opposite. They are concerned that the stress of planning a wedding could have negative effects on the success of her fertility treatments. As odd as this proposed rescheduling might sound, her doctors know what they’re talking about. Stress is terrible for conception, especially for couples resorting to fertility treatments.

Because so many couples are dealing with fertility issues these days, there are more than enough studies discussing the effectiveness of various techniques. Whether couples use ICSI, hormonal Stimulation, IVF, gamete intrafallopian transfer, or Chinese holistic techniques, one thing remains constant. Stress must be reduced as much as possible during the process in order to increase the odds of conception. In fact, some fertility treatments actually include psychologist counseling to keep stress to a minimum.  The best course of action appears to be reducing stress before any treatments begin and then continuing stress-reduction techniques throughout the process. Lower stress levels have proven to increase both male and female fertility.

Another positive aspect of reducing stress before fertility treatments has to do with cost. There are normally multiple treatments before a successful conception, and those do not come cheap. By reducing stress before starting fertility therapy though, couples increase their chances of conceiving sooner, thus reducing the number of treatments they will need to purchase. Let’s face it; paying less than you thought for expensive procedures is a stress reduction in itself! 

Aniston intends to use Chinese fertility techniques, which focus on a more holistic approach. This means every aspect of Aniston’s life will be analyzed for its effects on her health and fertility. A comprehensive approach like this could uncover other factors doctors hadn’t previously thought of as affecting her ability to conceive. This approach is actually becoming more mainstream in Western medicine as well, as doctors discover just how much our environment and our state of mind impacts our health. If you and your partner are struggling to conceive, consider creating a more balanced lifestyle and reducing your stress before investing in expensive fertility treatments.

Source:  Should fertilization treatment start with reducing stress? Campagne, Daniel M.  Human Reproduction, Volume 21, Issue 7, pp 1651-1658.