Infertility and the Mind-Body Connection

The Power of the Mind

The mind is a very powerful thing. We've been learning that consistently over the past decade or two. We are learning that our basic beliefs and mindsets have a lot to do with the way we create our own realities and the way our beliefs are shaped happened a long time before we ever knew that is what was happening. Wordless messages given to us by our parents, siblings, relatives, teachers, and other people who made an impact upon us during our lives, are held in a vault of memories that are often "forgotten" to our minds but not to our bodies. Dr. Christine Northrup, renowned OB/GYN and author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, said: "Women are almost never told how their family histories, beliefs, and emotions affect their fertility. Knowing this information can be very empowering."

It's All Connected

Some of the most powerful ideas and concepts we have about our own abilities and capabilities about reproduction are formed years before we're even ready to start a family. In the current studies of mind-body research, discoveries about how the hormonal, immune, and nervous systems are intrinsically tied to our thoughts, attitudes and emotions are compelling and exciting. Our parents not only transferred to us their attitudes about the body, its functions and sexuality; we also, as young children, internalized their attitudes about such family issues as whether babies come into the world easily or with great difficulty; whether children are loved and valued in the family; whether it is a good thing to be a child in the family; and whether is a good thing to have a child in the family.

Our Minds Will Work to Create What We Believe

Our hormonal profile, which is critical to fertility, works silently to recreate whatever it is our mental and emotional perceptions tell it to create. Our hidden emotions and beliefs actually determine how our bodies will react to certain things - including fertility. The mind-body balance is powerfully affected by unconscious emotions that are often tied to traumas experienced in childhood. Early childhood experiences affect overall health as well as the ability to conceive. So, if as a little girl a woman heard that women in her family had a very difficult time conceiving, that belief lies buried in her psyche and her body as well. The result is difficulty in conceiving - manifesting as infertility.

Knowing Family Beliefs

Since family patterns and belief systems are such an integral part of our being, it is helpful to understand if there is a repetition of patterns that are buried in the mind-body system that are hindering conception. The infertility issue may not be one that is actually physical, but may be physically manifested as a result of thoughts and emotions that lie buried in the mind and body.

There are a number of very effective therapies available today to help women move past these blockages and know the joy of being able to conceive. Mind-body reproductive health professionals are available to help women who may be experiencing infertility as a result of a belief system.