Stress and Infertility: How You Can De-stress and Improve Your Chances to Conceive

If you're trying to get pregnant and are under stress, there are quite a few symptoms you can watch for to help determine your fertility and calm your curiosity. One of these signs is your cervical mucus. On your most fertile cycle, your cervical mucus should become increasingly wet as you approach ovulation and is said to resemble egg whites, slippery to touch and clear to semitransparent in color. If your cycle is being affected by stress, you may notice some wet days and some dry ones. If the mucus is not fertile, it can look yellow, cloudy or white in color and can be sticky to touch.

Beyond warning signs, there are many ways to de-stress and help prevent you from having another unsuccessful cycle. At CNY Fertility & CNY Healing Arts we offer many suggestions for stress reduction to help improve your chances to conceive, we've highlighted a few below:

• Don't make mountains out of molehills - We've all heard this saying. Never thought it would carry so much weight, huh? Psychologist Charlotte Davis Kasl, author of Finding Joy, writes, "Peace of mind comes from not attaching a great deal of significance to either state. We simply note our moods and physical state and gently move toward balance as best we can, accepting it as part of the flow of life."
• Try acupuncture - In Germany, studies revealed that women who underwent acupuncture treatments just before and just after an embryo transfer into their uterus had a significantly higher rate of pregnancy than those who did not (42.5% as to 26.3%). Read about Acupuncture for Fertility here.
• Exercise more - it releases Endorphins that make you feel good in both body and mind. The world is constantly trying to throw us out of balance. Keep exercise a constant and it will improve your quality of life in many ways. Yoga for Fertility is strongly suggested at CNY Fertility. Class schedules here.
• Diet well - a diet does not have to mean counting calories and cutting carbs. Dieting can be as simple as not making that daily stop at Starbucks or eating more organic, less processed foods. Try eating more grains and less fat, as well as plenty of fruit and vegetables. Eat well and you will be well.
• Sleep regularly - This has to be one of the top reasons for anxiety among humans. Whether your sleep lacks quality, quantity, or regularity, poor sleep can leave you too tired to do the things you like to do. Sleep loss can leave you irritable, moody, impatient and unable to focus. So rest up and enjoy life!
• Take time for yourself - Remember to take time each day to appreciate yourself and celebrate the small stuff. Treat yourself to a professional massage or take a yoga class. Do something that will relax you in both body and mind.
• Surround yourself with a supportive crowd - Would you say you have good friends or bad friends? If it's the latter, please consider weeding our your crowd. A supportive and understanding group of friends can make a world of difference when facing questions of infertility. Engage in healthy relationships and be practical when choosing friends. Visit our calendar and join us for a support event.
• Breath deeply - Try it right now. Slowly, inhale deeply into your belly and exhale as much air as possible from your lungs. Practice this before reacting to any obstacle life throws at you; notice the difference in your reactions.

What is it?
Regarding general methods used during treatment, Mini-IVF, also known as Micro-IVF, is actually very similar to traditional in vitro fertilization.As with IVF, doctors will monitor a patient throughout the cycle, retrieve eggs, fertilize the egg and sperm in a laboratory, and transfer the embryo.

The difference is in the amount of medication a doctor will use to stimulate the ovaries in order to produce eggs. While a typical IVF treatment will aim to produce several eggs for retrieval, Mini-IVF uses weaker or lower doses of medications to produce only a few eggs. Drugs such as Clomid or lower doses of gonadotropins may be administered to patients to stimulate the ovaries during Mini-IVF. The goal is to produce only a couple eggs, as opposed to many.

In addition to ovarian stimulation drugs, a patient undergoing Mini-IVF may also need to take a GnRH antagonist (like Anatagon and Cetrotide), which prevents ovulation from occurring too early, so your doctor has a chance to retrieve the eggs from your ovaries.

Why should you try it?
For starters, low-dose treatment approach of Mini-IVF makes it cheaper than conventional IVF and allows a lower risk of leading to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, when the ovaries become dangerously enlarged with fluid due to fertility drugs.

Furthermore, although Mini-IVF costs more than other infertility treatments such as IUI, intrauterine insemination, only one embryo is implanted with Mini-IVF, reducing the risk of fertilizing multiple eggs (resulting in twins, triplets, etc.). With IUI, you cannot control how many eggs will be fertilized.

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My fiance and I started to go to CNY Fertility in Syracuse, NY on Novemebr 11, 2009. We tried two IUI's which failed. We both decided to try IVF. On February 15, 2010 I had the procedure done by Dr. Massey. On February 20, 2010 Dr Kiltz placed three embryo's in me. We both waited patiently with hope. On March 2, 2010 my pregnancy test came back positive. After the second pregnancy test it was positive still. We were so happy with tears of joy. The whole nine months I was so happy to be pregnant with my miracle of joy. Each day I prayed for our baby to make it. On October 18, 2010 at 2:45 pm I delivered our beautiful baby boy at Faxton/St. Lukes Hospital Birth Place in New Hartford, NY.

He was born on my fiance's 33rd birthday. He got a wonderful birthday gift. He was 7lbs 9 1/2 oz 21 inches long. I was 37 weeks pregnant. He was not due till November 8, 2010. He came out healthy and beautiful. He was full term. We want to thank you Dr Kiltz and all staff at Syracuse office for giving us our wonderful miracle baby boy. The office was very understanding and helpful. Every day we count our blessings for our son.

Thank You so much!
Renee, Shawn, and Joseph