Cognitive Behaviour Therapy linked to fertility
30 Aug 2006
A report published in Medical News Today suggests that cognitive behaviour therapy can help some women become fertile again.
According to the report, researchers at a European Fertility Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, found that some women who had not menstruated or ovulated for twenty years, benefited enormously from this therapy.The researchers found a link between stress hormones and reproductive hormone levels. Of the 16 women who were initially studied, none had had a period for at least six months. All were found to have a functional hypothalamic amennhorea (FHA), a condition in which hormones that signal the release of other hormones that simulate ovulation have been at a low level for some time. The researchers also found that the women had high levels of cortisol in their bloodstream indicating a greater amount of stress.
Eight of the women received 20 weeks of CBT while the other half were observed, but received no treatment. Six of the eight women receiving CBT became fully fertile during that time, two became pregnant and all were experiencing much lower cortisol levels by the end of 20 weeks.
