Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

You may have heard that trying too hard can be stressful and may sabotage your chances at getting pregnant and now there is scientific evidence to support that theory. A new study states that high stress levels reduce chances of getting pregnant.

According to the lead author of the study, Dr Germaine Buck Louis, director of the Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research at the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, this is the first study that establishes the commonly held belief that stress contributes to fertility problems experienced by couples.

The study found that from among 274 women who were part of the study, those women who had the highest levels of stress, had the lowest probability of getting pregnant.

The participating women were asked to take saliva samples on the 6^th day of their menstrual cycle and also keep detailed diaries. The saliva samples were tested for two things – Cortisol and alpha-amylase – which are associated with stress.

Those women who had higher alpha-amylase levels were 12% less likely to get pregnant. And when you consider the fact that at the best of times, there is only 25 to 33 % chances of getting pregnant anyway, this further reduction is very significant!