Yoga: Can It Help With Fertility?

Yoga can be a useful way to manage stress and support physical and emotional wellbeing when you are trying to conceive. Around 1 in 7 couples may have difficulty conceiving, according to the NHS, and the uncertainty involved can understandably make this an emotionally demanding time.

Yoga should not be considered a fertility treatment, and there is no guarantee that practising it will make pregnancy more likely. However, research suggests that yoga may help reduce stress, anxiety and depression in people experiencing infertility, including those undergoing fertility treatment. For some people, that can make it a valuable part of looking after their wellbeing while trying for a baby.

Contents

• How Does Stress Affect Conception?
• Stress and Ovulation
• The Benefits of Yoga When Trying to Conceive
• Choosing a Yoga Class
• Gentle Morning Yoga
• Can Yoga Improve Fertility?

How Does Stress Affect Conception?

During a stressful situation, your body activates its natural “fight-or-flight” response. Stress hormones such as cortisol are released as your body prepares to respond to a perceived threat. Once the stressful situation passes, these hormone levels normally fall again.

Trying to conceive can itself be stressful, particularly when pregnancy does not happen as quickly as expected. Fertility investigations and treatments such as IVF can also place a considerable emotional strain on both partners.

The relationship between stress and fertility is complicated. It is difficult to separate the effects of stress on conception from the stress caused by experiencing fertility problems, so it would be misleading to suggest that simply reducing stress will resolve infertility.

Stress and Ovulation

Severe or prolonged physical or emotional stress can sometimes affect the menstrual cycle and ovulation, although this varies considerably between individuals. Changes to menstrual cycles can have many other causes, so persistent irregular or absent periods should not automatically be attributed to stress.

Stress can affect men too, including sexual wellbeing, and some research has explored possible associations with semen quality. However, fertility problems often have several contributing factors and may affect either or both partners.

If you have been trying to conceive for a year without success, the NHS advises speaking to your GP. Women aged 36 or over, and anyone who already knows they may have a fertility problem, should seek advice sooner.

The Benefits of Yoga When Trying to Conceive

Originating in ancient India, yoga encompasses physical postures, breathing exercises and practices designed to encourage relaxation and mental focus. Modern yoga classes vary greatly, but many combine gentle or more demanding movement with controlled breathing and relaxation.

Research into yoga and infertility has found encouraging evidence for improvements in stress, anxiety and depression. This may make yoga a useful complementary activity for people dealing with the emotional effects of infertility or fertility treatment. Evidence that yoga directly increases pregnancy rates is much less certain, so it should not replace medical assessment or fertility treatment where these are needed.

Potential benefits of practising yoga while trying to conceive may include:

• helping to manage stress and anxiety;
• providing regular gentle or moderate physical activity;
• encouraging relaxation and mindful breathing;
• supporting flexibility, balance and general physical wellbeing;
• providing valuable time away from the pressures of trying to conceive; and
• offering social support when attending a suitable class.

Some yoga classes and online resources are marketed specifically for fertility. Claims that particular poses can “boost fertility”, increase blood flow to reproductive organs sufficiently to improve conception, strengthen the reproductive system or correct hormonal problems should be treated cautiously. There is not enough good-quality evidence to support these claims.

Choosing a Yoga Class

There are many styles of yoga, ranging from gentle sessions centred around relaxation and stretching to much more physically demanding classes. If you are new to yoga, a beginner-friendly class that allows you to progress gradually may be a sensible place to start.

Choose a teacher who is appropriately trained and insured, and tell them about any health concerns, injuries or fertility treatment you are undergoing. The British Wheel of Yoga is the National Governing Body for yoga in England and Wales and provides information about trained teachers and classes.

If you are undergoing IVF or another fertility treatment, ask your clinic whether there are any activities or poses you should temporarily avoid. Your requirements can change during different stages of treatment.

Yoga can also provide useful emotional space during what can become an all-consuming process. A regular class, gentle home practice or short period of breathing and stretching may simply give you an opportunity to relax and focus on something other than conception.

Gentle Morning Yoga

If attending a class is not convenient, there are many beginner yoga sessions available online. The short routine below from yoga instructor Brett Larkin was included in the original version of this article and offers a gentle home practice.

You do not need to follow a specific “fertility yoga” programme to benefit from the relaxing aspects of yoga. A short, comfortable practice that you enjoy and can maintain regularly may be more useful than trying to perform particular poses because they have been claimed to enhance fertility.

Can Yoga Improve Fertility?

Yoga may be a helpful addition to your routine when trying to conceive, particularly if it helps you manage stress, stay active and feel better emotionally. Studies involving people experiencing infertility have reported improvements in stress, anxiety and depression, including during IVF treatment.

What has not been established is that yoga itself treats infertility or reliably increases the chance of pregnancy. There is no particular yoga pose, duration or weekly routine that has been shown to make conception happen.

That distinction is important. Yoga can support your wellbeing while you are trying for a baby, but it should sit alongside established fertility advice rather than replace it. If conception is taking longer than expected, speaking to your GP or fertility specialist is more appropriate than relying on yoga or other complementary approaches alone.

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