Hypnosis, Stress and Infertility: Hypnosis Can Decrease Stress and Increase Fertility Rates

The Eagles' song "Life in the Fast Lane" has never been more
appropriate than it is today. We all seem to be going through life
in fast forward, trying to get as much work done as possible before
more work ends up on our desks. This fast-paced culture invariably
affects stress levels, causing them to rise so high that it has
destructive effects on our professional and personal lives.

Stress is particularly destructive to women who want to have a
baby. According to a number of studies done in the United States,
high stress levels have been linked to rising instances of
infertility. These findings have left many women with a difficult
question to answer: "How can I de-stress my life without
sacrificing my career goals in the process?" Hypnosis and
hypnotherapy may just be the answer.

In-vitro fertilization (IVF) is a popular method for women with
infertility. In-vitro fertilization is a process in which a
woman's eggs are fertilized outside her body. These eggs are
harvested and eventually re-inserted into the uterus, with the hope
that she will become pregnant.

There are several problems with in-vitro fertilization, however.
For starters, in-vitro fertilization is an extremely expensive
procedure, costing as much as $10,000 or more! And even after
thousands of dollars have been spent, there's no guarantee of
positive results after the embryo(s) have been inserted.

In addition to the high cost and unpredictability of the procedure,
the procedure itself is no walk in the park. Women must take
several kinds of medications for four to six weeks (which is about
how long one IVF procedure takes), make several visits to their
doctor, endure pain in the cervix region and face the 20 percent
chance of miscarrying.

These kinds of worst case scenarios are, of course, presented to a
woman before and throughout the procedure, which adds stress to an
already stressed life, thus decreasing the likelihood of a woman
becoming pregnant.

With this in mind, it's important to understand what options there
are for women that can increase the likelihood of becoming pregnant
in in-vitro fertilization procedures.

Doctors and researchers at Soroka University Medical Center in Beer
Sheva, Israel, have discovered that hypnosis before an in-vitro
fertilization procedure dramatically increases the likelihood of a
woman becoming pregnant.

The study was done by observing two groups of approximately 90
women each. One group had no hypnosis done and went through the
IVF procedure as any woman normally would. The other group was put
through a 10-minute hypnotic state, wherein they were told to think
of a pleasant past experience. The results were astounding. Sixty
percent of the women put in a hypnotic state became pregnant. In
the non-hypnosis group, 30 percent of the women became pregnant.
Doctors and researchers of this study believe this was a direct
result of the women's bodies--particularly their uterus--being more
relaxed, thus allowing for an easier implantation of the embryo.

Steve G. Jones, Clinical Hypnotherapist
http://www.betterlivingwithhypnosis.com/