Mindfulness for Infertility
Studies have proven that mindfulness is an effective tool for encouraging psychological and emotional well-being for women experiencing infertility. If your journey toward building a family includes infertility, a regular mindfulness practice can help you to engage with the fertility process in a more positive way. By cultivating the qualities of calmness, compassion, focus, and “letting go,” mindfulness teaches coping skills that will improve your overall health
and happiness, and enhance your fertility (Rapoport-Hubschman, Gidron, Reicher-Atir, Sapir & Fisch, 2009).
The end goal of infertility treatments, conceiving a child, is joyful—but getting there can sometimes cause stress to women and couples. Many people who are preparing for the life-changing event of having a baby understandably become emotionally preoccupied with that goal. It is normal to experience frustration with your body, to be stressed by the lack of control during some situations (like the “two-week wait”), or to experience new challenges in your relationship.
While some people may get through the infertility process without much struggle at all, it’s also quite common to encounter difficulties: one study suggested that 25-60% of couples experiencing infertility will encounter some psychological problems (Hasanpoor-Azghdy, Simbar & Vedadhir, 2014).
One of the ways to address these issues is through mindfulness, the practice of awareness of present moment thoughts, emotions and sensations with acceptance. It involves the observation and cultivation of awareness of everything that’s happening in the present moment—such as any thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations passing through you. Another key part of mindfulness is acceptance: accepting the realities that you observe without reaction or judgement. Mindfulness can be a practice, or it can refer to a state of being that reflects these traits. Mindfulness approaches have been shown to be effective in treating conditions such as chronic pain, cancer, anxiety disorders, and depression—and they have also been proven to effectively improve psychological distress related to infertility (Galhardo, Cunha & Pinto-Gouveia, 2013).
In 2013, a study was conducted in Portugal to test the effectiveness of a mindfulness program for infertile patients. The study identified several psychological processes that commonly affect women with infertility, including feelings of depression, anxiety, entrapment, defeat, internal and external shame, and experiential avoidance (Galhardo et al., 2013). The prevalence of these issues was measured and compared against the qualities of mindfulness, self-compassion, ability of the patient to successfully adjust and compromise within their relationship, and the patient’s belief in her own ability to have the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral skills needed to get pregnant (infertility self-efficacy).
To test the effectiveness of mindfulness, the study used the Mindfulness-Based Program for Infertility (MBPI), a program designed to address the emotional and psychological needs of women experiencing infertility (Galhardo et al., 2013). MBPI is based on the Mindfulness-Based Program for Stress Reduction (MBPR), the Mind/Body Program for Infertility, and principles of acceptance and commitment therapy. In the study, 55 women with infertility participated in the MBPI, while 37 women experiencing infertility were in the control group.
The program included ten weekly mindfulness sessions of two hours each that emphasized moment-to-moment awareness as well as open, non-judgmental reflection upon the patient’s painful inner mental states—feelings, thoughts, and memories. The program also promoted attitudes of kindness as well as curiosity, and participants were
encouraged to “be present with the unfolding experience” as well as “to recognize their own experiences as part of the larger human existence” (Galhardo et al., 2013).
The results of the study showed that MBPI was effective for relieving psychological difficulties for women who participated in the program. Six months after completing the program, the women continued to display
a significant decrease in depressive and anxiety symptoms, avoidance, internal and external shame, entrapment, and defeat. Plus, they exhibited improvements in their mindfulness skills, self-compassion, and self-efficacy relating to their infertility. The study reports that practicing mindfulness helped women to create space and perspective on
their negative inner states. It also helped women to clarify their values, and to act in accordance with their values. By contrast, the control group did not show any statistically significant changes in the psychological traits measured.
Developing your mindfulness skills can help to provide relief and healing from issues that have an impact on the mental health of individuals experiencing infertility, including anxiety, depression, shame and self-judgement (Galhardo, Pinto-Gouveia, Cunha & Matos, 2011). Practicing calm observation and acceptance without judgement through the practice of mindfulness can help you to cultivate self healing strategies for your body and mind that will be beneficial during infertility, pregnancy, parenthood, and beyond.