Additionally, a stress-filled life can also lower your libido, so you might not be in the mood often. There is a study available, that suggests that stress causes the adrenal gland to excrete stress hormones and this can block both not only fertility, but the sex drive too. And yes, sex can block your fertility – the medical tests won’t show it, and this is the main reason a doctor will ask you: are you under stress lately? For god’s sake, Doc! Who isn’t??? A child in a elementary school is under stress! What do you think, doc? Ok, that was just my outburst… sorry… but their questions are sometimes… stupid.

Yes, we are all under stress, and some tolerable level of stress is actually welcome. It makes you stronger. But when the line is crossed… that is the time for problems:  skin related problems, sleep related problems … and even infertility.
Sometimes stress is simply not shown only mentally but physical too. Perhaps it won’t be shown on your blood picture, but it will definitely have an impact on your life, and on your sex life too.

It seems logical to say that if you want to get pregnant, you need to have sex. Yes, you do… if you want to get pregnant naturally of course. But some stressed out couples mistakenly believe that sex once or twice a month is enough. It’s not enough. Stress is a great stress reliever and if busy life schedule is is getting in the way of your baby-making, you may need to be proactive in finding time for sex. It is very simple, if you are too tired in the evening, reschedule to the mornings. Just do it.

Our bodies are equipped with a trigger that tells our bodies we shouldn’t conceive when under significant stress. This stress involves stressful situations at work as well as exhausting workout.

The trigger that sends signals is called adrenalin. Adrenalin is a hormone that is released by our bodies during stressful times. And adrenaline is the trigger that signals to our body that conditions are not ideal for conception. This is done by adrenalin inhibiting from utilizing the hormone progesterone, and causing the pituitary gland to release higher levels of prolactin, both being significant factor that contributes to harder conception.

Stress is also significant contributor for boosting levels of cortisol, also known as stress hormone. If a person, both males and females, is exposed to chronic stress most of the time, it is very possible it may lead to a lack of libido as well as a decrease in general fertility.

Cortisol is responsible for inhibiting the body’s main sex hormones GnRH (gonadotropin releasing hormone). As a consequence gonadotropin releasing hormone suppresses ovulation, sexual activity and lowers sperm count. Gonadotropin releasing hormone is also to be blamed for the release of Luteinizing hormones and follicle-stimulating hormones by the pituary, the suppression of testosterone, estrogens, and sexual behavior.

Chronic stress is so common today and it is very possible it is the one to be blamed for your problems with fertility. Actually, it has become so common problem that medical experts created a name for it: it is now called Stress Induced Reproductive Dysfunction.

If your fertility tests show you and your partner are from reproductive stand point healthy and there is no medical reason for your infertility, it is about time you should take a look at your life and take necessary changes if your life is too stressful.

Yes… you’ve heard it before… relax and it will happen.

Additionally, when woman and a man are under stress (and trying to conceive for long period of time is stressful), there is a good chance that their sex drive is going to be negatively affected. Consequently, if you aren’t interested in sex, that obviously limits the ability to conceive.

Is possible to bring the passion back? Absolutely!  You have been able t make time to enjoy sex before and you can do it again.

Following are few suggestions that could come handy when taking the time to rekindle the fire.

Schedule a weekly date. Spend time with your partner, go out to a dinner, share a bath, go for afternoon walk. Focus on you two only.

Redirect your attention to sex. Discover what arouses you and your partner. Discover your bodies again and renew your sensuality. Perhaps just the candles and some music will make the place right, perhaps you could include some (erotic) massage, or maybe even lap dance. Make sure to have time for your selves, no interruptions. Just the two of you. When two people spend time together, when they really focus on each other, this truly does bring back the passion, and arouses sexual desire.

There are numerous studies done on female and male libido, and most of them include the conclusion that every kind of woman, pre-menopausal, pregnant, peri-menopausal, menopausal, or post-menopausal has a low sex drive. The reason behind is low testosterone levels (male sexual hormone), which is the main reason women often have problems when arousing sexual desires in a long period of trying to conceive.

Researchers observed almost 120 women with infertility issues that were undergoing treatment in their infertility clinic. As a control group they observed almost 100 fertile women.  Both groups were recruited from the university gynecology clinic, and were similar in terms of age, average weight, education levels and racial and ethnic makeup.

Both groups completed a standard questionnaire on female sexual function. Questionnaire scores lower than 26.5 are considered to denote a high risk of sexual dysfunction. The average score in the study group (infertility group) was 27.1, while the average score in the control (fertile group) was 28.7. Among studied group that represent infertile women, almost 40% scored low on a  questionnaire of sexual function to put them at “high risk” of sexual dysfunction, which is comparing to control group of fertile women with only one fourth of them being in high risk group, almost as twice as much.

The difference between study and control group is in desire and arousal. Study group (infertile women) did not report problems such as pain during sex or vaginal dryness nor did report problems with orgasms. The difference was also in how often women have sexual intercourse: infertile group tended to have intercourse less often — an average of seven times per month, while the fertile group had sexual intercourse more than 9 times per month.

Additionally, women with fertility problems had a lower average score when it came to rating their sex-life satisfaction. And 34% said they’d had a decline in satisfaction since their infertility diagnosis.

Studies about fertility and sexual dysfunction that were presented in the past have found that infertility and fertility treatment can negatively affect both women’s and men’s emotional well-being and can additionally create marital tension. Couples trying to get pregnant often feel the pressures of “sex-on-demand,” which can drain their satisfaction with their sex lives, the researchers say.

In most cases we are talking about the period of 2 weeks until the bleeding stops, which usually does happen in a period of 15 days. This is because in the process of miscarriage cervix dilates as a part of the physical process of miscarriage and in this process uterus is susceptible to increased possibility of infections. This is the main reason woman should wait until the bleeding stops before having sexual intercourse after miscarriage. This also includes avoiding the use of tampons or inserting anything into vagina, for the same reason of uterus infection.

I am explaining this because physical healing of a lasts different with every woman: average is 2 weeks, but the healing process depends on several other characteristics:

• how advanced the pregnancy was
• how heavy woman is bleeding
• was there any complications during miscarriage
• was there medical intervention necessary

In cases when miscarriage is complicated, including ectopic pregnancies it may take several weeks (talking about up to 2 months) before woman is physically feeling well. For example, in cases of estopic pregnancies it is advised to rest as much as possible, take time off work and have someone to help you with household chores and children. No exercising and it is very important not to lift anything heavy.  Some women might feel anemic after pregnancy and they will probably be advised to take iron supplements.

At this point I would also like to bring out that it is possible to get pregnant very soon after miscarriage (basically you could get pregnant as soon as the bleeding form miscarriage stops). But because of the fact that some women might be advised to wait at least 6 if not more months before getting pregnant, and most of all taking into consideration that most woman might not feel emotionally ready for another pregnancy, it would be wise to take some form of contraception into consideration.