stress & hormones
In the world of reproduction, hormones work together as a team, moving fluidly and communicating with one another at precisely the right time to keep the delicate balance of hormones in check. They rise, fall, and change in a delicate dance to support your body through fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum.
There is a silent and powerful disruptor to your hormones' choreographed movements that can unravel your body's best efforts at increasing your success with fertility, supporting the uncomfortable symptoms of pregnancy, and wreaking havoc on functioning postpartum. This unfortunate hormone influencer is stress.
Stress can be an amazing and efficient motivator. It can encourage a procrastinator to finish a project in record time; it can increase focus and attention on a task, but that’s not what stress is for most people. It has become a normal way of living. Stress has taught people to have their nerves on ‘go’ 24/7. It has forced men and women to expend more energy than is necessary on tasks that should be easy and simple, and it has tricked people into finding and adopting convenient and efficient ways to simply survive.
The main hormones produced from conception to postpartum are estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, FSH, and LH. These hormones run the show, so how does this affect each stage? Stress can attack each of these directly or indirectly.
If your body is continually preparing to fight for its life, the first hormone to be affected is progesterone. Progesterone is typically more dominant in the second half of the menstrual cycle, known as the luteal phase. Its job is to prepare the lining of the uterus, trigger LH during ovulation, and keep estrogen and cortisol levels in check. When under stress, your body will prioritize the production of cortisol and estrogen, which both act as stimulants. If cortisol and estrogen are allowed to fully run the show without someone to keep them in check, they will overpower your entire hormone production system. This can lead to LH surges happening off time or not happening at all. This can result in no ovulation or an unpredictable ovulation period. Progesterone also affects FSH in that it INHIBITS it. If there is no progesterone to limit the FSH, it can increase to a point where it can no longer develop and mature the eggs and ovarian follicles appropriately, both of which are crucial if you are trying to conceive.
If a woman is pregnant, progesterone is a dominant factor during pregnancy, and again will be the first to decrease. This can lead to a miscarriage and fetal development. Stress has other ways of affecting pregnancy hormones. Stress can affect insulin and contribute to insulin resistance and the increased risk of gestational diabetes. Additionally, epinephrine is under attack. Stress demands the increase of epinephrine (adrenaline) production, which can limit the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the fetus, leading to growth restriction in the fetus.
Stress doesn’t stop after the birth of a baby either. It will decrease oxytocin levels, which is crucial in bonding after the baby is born. Oxytocin and prolactin are important in keeping your baby alive by way of breastmilk. When you are stressed and unable to relax, this will decrease your milk production DRAMATICALLY. Not only does stress impact you physically, but it can cause changes in behaviors due to lack of sleep and thyroid changes. Additionally, it can increase your risk of depression or anxiety. Both of these can have exceptionally negative effects, not just for the mother but for the entire family.
As stated, hormones have a pre-choreographed dance that can easily be inhibited and negatively changed by stress. Although your hormones are incredibly resilient, they are unraveled easily if stress is left unchecked. So all I am asking to prevent stress from overrunning your life is to take 10 minutes. Just 10 minutes today to do something for YOU. I know you have a busy life, but you can have absolute control over your life for 10 minutes.
Until next time,
Erin
