At the Zita West Clinic we know how important the Mind-Body connection is to fertility.  Getting pregnant or going through IVF is not just about having sex at the ‘right’ time or going through the motions of IVF; the mind can have a very powerful influence on the whole process of conception. Negative thoughts, emotions and behaviors can lead to increased anxiety and depression, and sabotage your goals of conception.

 Emotional and psychological blocks can get in the way of conception. Your relationship with your partner really holds the key.  If you are feeling anger and resentment towards your partner, not enjoying sex and not really ‘connecting’ with your partner, but simply existing alongside in a vacuum, this passion-starved existence is hardly conducive to making a baby together.

 Negative messages from figures of authority can really feed every cell in your body.  If as a young woman a doctor tells you: ‘You are likely to have problems conceiving when you get older,’ this can have a devastating affect, subconsciously crushing your hopes for motherhood; or if a man has had a very authoritarian father, it may affect his sexuality and his belief about his ability to father a child. Negative feelings can lead to anxiety about sex and the belief that it’s not really worth having sex.

Similarly, any traumatic events from the past, such as an abortion (often from years back), repeated failed attempts at IVF or recurrent miscarriage can create feelings of negativity and despair.

Can you identify with any of these statements?

I need help to stay positive.

I feel out of control.

I am getting over-anxious.

I have never failed at anything until now.

I need help to manage my stress.

I know I am a perfectionist by nature.

Maybe I don’t deserve to have a child.

I don’t want to have any regrets.

We need help to make the right decision.

The clock is ticking.

 The Manage Your Mind Programme will help you to change your mind-set and learn to let go.  The programme incorporates a variety of techniques and treatments depending on the individual and couple needs.  This may include CBT (cognitive behavior therapy), hypnotherapy, positive visualization, art therapy, or guided relaxation.  The emphasis on the programme is to use techniques to challenge your negative beliefs and to come up with strategies to help you cope positively with the rigors of fertility investigations and treatment and to maximize your fertility potential.  A single session may be invaluable.  Other times a series of 3-6 sessions may be more appropriate.  More specific fertility/relationship counseling is available at the clinic as needed.

 The more we do in this area, the more we believe that so much to do with getting pregnant is down to a woman’s mind-set. Emotional and psychological blocks really can get in the way of conception.  In addition, the relationship between the couple holds the key and attitudes to sex are also an important factor.  Sex can often be used as a subconscious currency and if both partners are not enjoying sex it can affect their fertility.

 So many of the couples we see find it easy to mange the challenges of every other aspect of their home, work and financial life but are often unable to mange their minds when they are full of negative feelings. With this programme, we want couples to learn how to change their mind-set and just let go.

For more information please get in contact with the Zita West clinic for a consultation book with Jane knight or Maureen Kylie.

You’ve just received your AMH test results…low egg reserve, menopause, egg donation – six words a woman does not want to hear, especially in one sentence. And just to rub some more salt into the wound, these words may then be followed by ‘you will not be able to have your own genetic child’. Devastating. But a low AMH reading doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t get pregnant. We are conducting an audit at the Zita West Clinic on AMH levels below 5 and pregnancy outcome to help determine how many women are getting pregnant naturally with a low ovarian reserve.

Anti-mullerian (AMH) is a substance produced by the resting follicles in the ovaries which diminishes as a woman ages. An AMH test helps to assess the ovarian reserve which gives an indication of a woman’s fertility potential. We use the test at the clinic as part of our Fertility MOT check. The AMH test is a blood test that can be taken at anytime of the month. The test indicates a woman’s egg reserve on a scale of 0-67 – the higher the number the better.

Some women find the test useful when they are thinking of having a baby to help determine how long they should try to conceive naturally. Others use it as an indicator to verify whether to have another IVF cycle or not (IVF is very expensive and it’s often worthwhile to know what the chances are of the cycle being successful). However for every test there will be a result – and that could be good or not such good news and you may need support in interpreting the results and planning the way forward. For some women it may be appropriate to consider prioritising planning pregnancy or even moving to a more assisted route sooner rather than later. However, I’m always concerned for women who do not have a partner and take the test to find out what their future fertility is looking like, because if it is discovered that they have a low ovarian reserve, it can often cause stress and angst in a future relationship.

If we see a woman who has a low AMH level – that is 5 or less – we explore, discuss and plan the next steps to optimise her chances of having a baby. This may include the following:

1. Looking at the mind & body and improving any negative perceptions through the use of hypnotherapy. If a woman receives bad news about her ovarian reserve, her mindset becomes very negative and she tends to spiral down. Shock and devastation takes over and she can be left feeling helpless. This thinking can often lead to women giving up on sex, but I urge you to have as much sex as you can as we have seen many cases where a woman with a low AMH level has conceived naturally. 

2. Acupuncture. We believe that acupuncture may help improve blood flow to the ovaries, as this reduces significantly with age. It also helps a woman to relax and give her a greater sense of well-being.

3. Nutrition. Many women we see know a lot about diets but not enough about nutrition in relation to fertility. I’m aware that a woman is born with all the eggs she is ever going to have, but I do believe you can improve the environment that the existing eggs are growing in by exploring and incorporating ‘anti –ageing’ foods and nutrients into your diet. This may involve the use of DHEA, yet this is not suitable for everyone.

Dehydroepiandrostene (DHEA) is a steroid hormone synthesised in the body from cholesterol by the adrenal glands. It is also produced by the ovaries and testes, in fatty tissue and in the brain. Levels decrease with age and it is for this reason that researchers have suggested that supplementation of DHEA may be helpful to counteract the effects of ageing. A recent study published this year by the Tel Aviv University, confirms previously published research by New York City’s Centre for Human Reproduction that the supplementation of DHEA can improve fertility in women with diminished ovarian reserve and also increase the likelihood of conception with IVF approximately threefold. However, as previously mentioned, DHEA is not for everyone.

There’s no doubt that if a woman receives a not so great AMH test result it can be very upsetting. So it’s about being proactive, moving forward and making sure that you are doing everything you can to increase your chances of having your own genetic child before, if required, moving onto other means of assisted fertility such as egg donation.