The effect of stress on reproduction is thought to be adaptive, preventing new births during times of scarcity or social disruption. Chronic stress can decrease the sex drive in both men and women, but also affect women’s ability to get pregnant and carry a fetus to term. Even the stress of trying to conceive can lower women’s chances. Tales abound of couples who adopt because they can’t conceive and suddenly become new biological parents.
“The knock-down RNA delivered during the period of chronic stress restored all subsequent reproductive behavior to normal: Mating behavior, pregnancy rate and the amount of embryo resorption were all back to normal,” Geraghty said. “This study shows that even when chronic stress is not that extreme to where you stop your cycle, as when women under caloric restriction get amenorrhea, reproductive function is still hampered.”
Source: Medical News Today