Infertility is a worldwide epidemic.Infertility is when a couple cannot get pregnant (conceive) despite having regular unprotected sex. It is known that many couples will benefit from psychological intervention that can lead to conception.
Reproductive health and fertility, the ability to procreate, are an inherent human right and for many women becoming a mother is the basis of their female identity. Many women believe the ability to conceive, carry, deliver, and raise a child is an essential life stage and their purpose in life. It is also a vital component of society’s general health and is pivotal to the propagation of the human race. However, many couples are faced with infertility.
In the UK, around 1 in 7 couples may have difficulty conceiving. For couples who have been trying to conceive for more than 3 years without success, the likelihood of getting pregnant naturally within the next year is 1 in 4, or less.
In the United States, based on data obtained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016), 6.7 million women have an impaired ability to conceive or carry to term.
Globally, according to WHO, more than 186 million of married women of reproductive age in developing countries were maintaining a «child wish”, translating into one in every four couples.
Infertility is a devastating medical diagnosis for couples that can cause an emotional and spiritual crisis that it’s in par with catastrophic illness.
Psychogenic infertility refers to infertility where psychological factors play a predominant role. Statistics shows that its prevalence varies between 5% and 50% in infertile couples. When there is no physiological cause or no apparent medical reason that they can identify, couples can feel very frustrated because they don’t know what to do to increase their chances of getting pregnant.
Although infertility affects men and women equally, women tend to take responsibility to achieve the desired pregnancy. Approximately 56% of these women seek medical interventions such as assisted fertility treatments. More than one factor impedes fertility in 25% of infertile couples. Biological and psychological components influence infertility. It is a condition with a multiple factors, influenced by myriad biological and psychological factors such as age, autoimmune disorders, stress, depression, anxiety, and the use of medication, alcohol, and tobacco. Additional factors include weight, hormonal imbalance, endometriosis, and STD’s. For decades, assisted fertility treatments have focused on the biological aspects but have undervalued the psychological constituents. Extensive research and scientific evidence have revealed infertility is influenced by an individual’s emotional and psychological state.
Great advancements have been made in assisted reproductive therapies that provide women who were once faced with involuntary childlessness with options to treat their infertility and become mothers. Assisted reproductive therapies include medications that promote ovulation, intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF). An average of 40 million women seeks alternative interventions to treat their infertility. Assisted reproductive services offer women alternative options, but their high cost limits the number of women who can utilize the intervention.
According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the average cost of a single IVF treatment is $12400 plus medications ( $3000 – $5000 / per IVF cycle); typically it takes more than one round of IVF, often several. The cost of genetic testing on embryos is from $5000 to $10000. The cost of donor eggs is from $26000 to $30000. The cost of surrogate pregnancy is from $50,000 to $100,000.
Hypnotherapy provides women with an alternative cost effective option that address the psychological influences that are associated with and can cause infertility consequently optimizing their chances of conception. These hypnotic interventions are an advantageous alternative that incorporates the psychological constituents in the treatment of infertility or as an adjunct provision to medical interventions. Following a program that employs hypnosis to enhance fertility will result in a propitious outcome.
As noted previously, infertility causes psychological trauma for many women and has been referred to as one of life’s most stressful events. Pregnancy is also commonly associated with disturbances such as stress, anxiety, and depression and these disturbances have negative implications throughout the course of the pregnancy and the development of the fetus.
Several research studies have concluded successful results that substantiate hypnosis as a legitimate intervention. Throughout these trials, in the hypnotic state of consciousness, individuals have demonstrated the ability to harness the power of the mind to alter the physical sensations they experience which then amends their physical, mental, and emotional reactions and responses. These results suggest hypnosis is a viable intervention in the treatment of infertility by enhancing women’s fertility. Whereas medical treatments primarily focus on the biological nature of infertility, hypnosis incorporates both biological and psychological components. As noted, the high cost of assisted reproductive technologies precludes numerous women from seeking help. Hypnosis provides these women with an alternative, cost-effective intervention to treat infertility by addressing psychological influences, and thereby enhancing their fertility.
Hypnosis has been used as an adjunct in embryo transfer during IVF and to improve the probabilities of natural conception. Studies have revealed the benefits of incorporating hypnosis:
(a) it improves the rate of embryo transfer for women undergoing IVF;
(b) it aids in the reduction and management of stress, anxiety, and depression during infertility treatments and pregnancy;
(c) it enhances the health of the mother and unborn child;
(d) diminishes the adverse symptoms women experience through the course of their pregnancy;
(e) it reduces the risk and may terminate preterm deliveries;
(f) it lessens the probability of having miscarriages;
(g) it improves the rate of pregnancy
Hypnotherapy treatments result in beneficial modification of attitude, optimism, and mind-body interaction.
The goal of these treatments is to instil hope in women, by providing a cost effective alternative or adjunct intervention by enhancing their fertility. 100% of clients report improvement with one session of hypnotherapy. During these sessions, we balance intention (of the desired pregnancy) with surrender because we cannot force a baby, we have to be receptive and allow ourselves to receive the baby into the world.
Solely or as an adjunct to medical interventions, hypnosis can enhance fertility and improve the rate of pregnancy.
A typical client seeking fertility hypnotherapy would say: “I know there is baby out there even when doctors say there is a 0% chance of conceiving”.
Ref.: Using Hypnosis to Enhance Fertility for Women Experiencing Infertility by G. E. Casareno
