EP 53: Can stress keep you from getting pregnant? (ft. Dr. Julia Sen, Psychologist)

NEWS headlines have highlighted many times that  stress is impacting our fertility.  We hear well-meaning neighbors and friends telling us to JUST RELAX and that will help us get pregnant.   But is stress really the cause of our infertility preventing us from getting pregnant?  Can we even take it that next step further and say stress can cause a miscarriage?   One recent study said that higher perceived stress in early pregnancy was associated with an elevated risk of pregnancy loss, with higher risks observed for early hCG-detected pregnancy losses.  We reviewed this study and tips and tools to manage stress.  Our guest  Dr. Julia Sen, Psychologist speaks to how important it is to work on our ability to manage the stress that will hit you on your fertility journey every step of the way for better quality of life, not because of its impact on fertility itself.   The stress is real, it’s intense and learning effective strategies to cope with it is more important than worrying about being stressed.  Otherwise you are adding more pressure and yet another thing, in your mind to concern yourself with while trying to make a baby.  Stressing about being stressed is common.  Dr Julia helps patients  pivot by recognizing stress will always be there.  She answers our difficult questions around coping strategies since not all strategies are effective for everyone and every stage of fertility.    This episode focuses on pre-conception. Watch out for episode two where she talks about how to pivot while pregnant and postpartum as parents who once struggled to get here.  She teaches us easy and effective tools to help us lean into our tenderness after processing our sadness and not feeling guilty about our grief but instead acknowledging it, catching it and meeting it with compassion.  Lastly, NO we do NOT have to stay positive all the time.  Staying positive will not get us pregnant faster. Our featured guest Dr. Julia Sen is a registered clinical and counseling psychologist and has been seeing clients, individually, as couples, and in groups for over 20 years. She has dedicated her career to guiding people through fertility, parenting and re-parenting the self. Julia has a heart-centered approach with her clients and integrates both science and spirit into her practice. Connect with Dr. Julia Sen, @drjuliasen  Instagram  Energy protocol at DrJuliasen.com   Resources:  13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do: Take Back Your Power, Embrace Change, Face Your Fears, and Train Your Brain for Happiness and Success by Amy Morin Energy Medicine by Jill Blakeway Breath by James Nester  When Elephants Weep by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson  https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article-abstract/37/10/2264/6668505?login=false