I am so excited to share with you news from the 2017 American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s Scientific Congress on the topic of the fertility benefits of yoga.
Studies published in the journal Fertility & Sterility have shown that yoga can benefit frozen embryo transfer (FET) outcomes and emotional health for those who’ve been through unsuccessful IVF(s).
Yoga is a natural therapy we promote using as a fertility-boosting tool no matter what your journey looks like. It’s a tool to help you take a proactive, positive role in your fertility health, and is relatively inexpensive too. Yoga for fertility has been shown to increase blood flow to the reproductive organs for optimal function and increased libido. It can strengthen the endocrine system for hormonal balance, reduce stress, and encourage a more positive mindset for both women and men.
“We know infertility patients suffer from very high stress levels. These studies show that yoga represents a promising therapy for reducing patient stress during infertility treatment and even potentially improve outcome of such treatment,” said Richard J. Paulson, MD, President of the ASRM.
The Promising Studies…
Study 1: New Dehli, the capital city of India; Can yoga affect IVF outcomes?
100 women under the age of 38 who had one unsuccessful IVF (fresh embryo) previous to current subsequent FET participated in a randomized control trial to document the benefits of Yoga on their FET outcomes.
The women were divided into two groups, a control group that did not do yoga and a treatment group in which participants practiced three months of Yoga before their FET.
The results were that following the FET, 63% of the woman in the treatment group who did three months of yoga prior to the transfer achieved pregnancy compared to 43% of the women who did not do yoga at all.
Study 2: Chicago, IL, USA: The impact of in-person and online structured yoga programs on anxiety levels in patients after in vitro fertilization (IVF) failure: a preliminary analysis
The research team conducting this ongoing research do so with a goal of assessing the value of yoga on stress and anxiety levels of patients with infertility, particularly those having been through failed IVF.
Twenty-five patients were enrolled in an online or in-person 16-week yoga program. “Preliminary analysis demonstrates a significant reduction in anxiety scores for both yoga interventions… findings show a promising benefit of implementing either an in-person or online yoga program for anxiety reduction in patients with prior failed IVF cycles,” concluded the study’s researchers, A.E. Martini, K. Hammer, B. Heller and J.E. Hirshfeld-Cytron.
For more on yoga for fertility, see our guides:
Fertility Yoga
Benefit Your Body, Mind & Spirit with Fertility Yoga
5 Amazing Fertility Benefits of Yoga
Yoga is widely known for its ability to increase agility and tone the body. It is also instrumental for boosting immunity, increasing blood flow, balancing the breath, strengthening the heart and bones, focusing the mind, and releasing tension – all amazing overall health benefits that also impact fertility. I encourage you to give yoga a try today! Contact a yoga center or practitioner near you, or try either of the following in the comfort of your own home:
The Fertility Yoga Program – eBook
Restoring Fertility – Yoga for Optimal Fertility
Here’s to your fertility success!
- Tipton, S. and Nicoll, E. (Nov 01, 2017). Yoga Helps Infertility Patients. American Society of Reproductive Medicine [ASRM Press Release].
- Nayar, P., Nayar, K.D., Ahuja, R., Singh, M., G. Kant, G., et al. (November 1, 2017). Can yoga affect ivf outcomes? Akanksha IVF Centre, New Delhi, India. Fertility and Sterility. Volume 108 , Issue 3 , e300. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2017.07.887. Retrieved from: http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(17)31409-7/fulltext
- Martini, A.E., Hammer, K., Heller, B. and Hirshfeld-Cytron, J.E.. (November 1, 2017). The impact of in-person and online structured yoga programs on anxiety levels in patients after in vitro fertilization (IVF) failure: a preliminary analysis. Fertility and Sterility. Volume 108 , Issue 3 , e301. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2017.07.890. Retrieved from: http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(17)31412-7/fulltext
