Improve your chances of fertility success
with Brighter Future Therapy Practice
Why can’t I get pregnant?
Our brain is separated into our intellectual brain and our original primitive or limbic system brain. When we are stressed or have a lot going on we spend a lot of time in our primitive brain. Our primitive brain is only concerned with our survival. It doesn’t care if we are happy, have a rewarding career or a fulfilling family life etc – it only wants to keep us alive.
Now trying for a baby can be stressful. Once we have made that decision that we want to have a baby we can usually think of little else, particularly if it takes longer than we expected. We worry “Is there something wrong?”, “Why are others getting pregnant and we aren’t?”, “What if we never have children?”
Fertility investigations can cause further stress – having to take time off work whilst keeping the reason private, going back and forth to various clinics, having to monitor period dates and ovulation times.
And if fertility treatment is required the stress increases. More time off work, keeping it quiet from friends and family or else constantly being asked if you are pregnant or having well-meaning friends assure you that you WILL have children. The hormone treatment that makes your moods fluctuate wildly, the pressure to have sex according to a strict schedule.
So this all sounds the ideal time to bring a child into the world doesn’t it?
NOPE! your primitive brain is shouting…..
Your stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) are elevated, your happy hormones (serotonin and dopamine) are low and your primitive brain panics – YOU ARE IN DANGER – this is survival time – fight or flight. The worst possible time to waste resources on creating and growing another human being. Resources need to be conserved for YOUR survival.
So your brain orders your body to reject, reject, reject!
How can hypnotherapy aid fertility?
Reduce the psychological distress of infertility
Infertility can lead to significant emotional strain, including feelings of depression, anxiety, and a sense of helplessness. Hypnotherapy addresses these issues by using guided relaxation, focused attention, and suggestions to alter the subconscious mind’s response to stress and emotional pain. This process can help individuals reframe their thoughts about infertility, reducing negative self-talk and fostering a more positive outlook.
Aid the emotional wellbeing of couples
Hypnotherapy can improve communication and emotional intimacy between partners.
Additionally, hypnotherapy can help individuals reframe negative thoughts and beliefs about their fertility journey, replacing them with positive affirmations and a more optimistic outlook. By fostering a positive mental attitude and reducing emotional distress, hypnotherapy helps couples maintain a supportive and loving relationship, which is crucial for their overall well-being and resilience during the conception process.
Stress reduction
Stress and anxiety are known to negatively impact fertility by disrupting hormonal balance and impairing reproductive function. Hypnotherapy helps reduce stress levels by inducing a state of deep relaxation and tranquillity, which can enhance hormonal regulation and improve reproductive health.
Improve the success rates of both natural and IVF inception
For natural conception, hypnotherapy helps to create an optimal internal environment where the body can function more efficiently, increasing the chances of successful conception. Hypnotherapy can also help manage the emotional rollercoaster associated with IVF, reducing feelings of frustration and disappointment, and promoting a sense of calm and optimism.
Fostering positive mindset shifts
Hypnotherapy can improve coping mechanisms by instilling a sense of control and empowerment. Individuals can learn to visualize successful outcomes and develop a more resilient mindset, making it easier to handle the emotional ups and downs of infertility treatments.
Hormone regulation
High stress levels can negatively impact hormonal balance and reproductive health, creating a vicious cycle. Hypnotherapy induces a state of deep relaxation, which can lower stress hormones such as cortisol, promoting a sense of calm and well-being..
Is hypnotherapy for fertility successful?
YES! Increased IVF embryo transfer outcome
A controlled clinical trial studied the impact of hypnosis during embryo transfer on the outcome of in vitro fertilisation (IVF). 98 IVF/ET cycles were carried out with hypnosis during the embryo transfer procedure and 96 IVF/ET cycles were carried out without hypnosis. The implantation rate for those receiving hypnosis was 28% compared to 14.4% for the control group and the clinical pregnancy rate was 53.1% (52 pregnancies) for those receiving hypnosis and 30.2% (29 pregnancies) for the control group. This study suggests that the use of hypnosis during embryo transfer may significantly improve the IVF/ET cycle outcome in terms of increased implantation and clinical pregnancy rates. Furthermore, it seems that the patients' attitude to the treatment was more favourable. (Eliahu Levitas et al., 2006) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16566936/
YES! High success with "unexplained" infertility
A comparative study was carried out to establish the efficacy of psychotherapeutic intervention including hypnotherapy in couples with “unexplained” infertility. Over a period of 28 years, 554 couples without any physical anomaly were studied. Stress of barrenness was seen in 100% of women, with other stressors including those of marital life identified. Psychotherapeutic intervention with indirect and direct hypnosis was provided to each couple. The results were judged as success in terms of occurrence of pregnancy. The success rate was 71.67%. A persistent, unprecedented high success rate establishes that "unexplained" reproductive failure is psychodynamically triggered, is reversible with psychotherapy that includes hypnosis. The study explains causation in terms of psychosomatic stress. When that is alleviated with hypnotherapy, there are remarkable results. (Vyas et al., 2013) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24592756/