I could not get pregnant despite having an accurate diagnosis of my fertility problem (pituitary adenoma) and taking meds to correct it. After 4 years of trying to conceive, we gave up and decided to go on with life.

Three years later I was diagnosed with clinical depression (which I have had for over 20 years but was never treated). I started taking an antidepressant, and my world changed for the better. After a year of being depression-free, I became pregnant! My daughter was born in 1998.

Right after I became pregnant, Harvard University released a study showing a link between stress, depression, and infertility.

I had no idea that my depression and my infertility could be connected until I saw this study.

We know that stress can adversely affect a woman's reproductive cycle. Depression is literally a stress disorder. Depressed persons have higher levels of cortisol and, usually, lower levels of various neurotransmitters. The delicate chemistry of the nervous system is out of whack...and the nervous system also controls the reproductive system.

While I was pregnant, a co-worker who had tried everything to get pregnant listened to my story about the possible connection between stress, depression, and infertility. She was struggling with depressed feelings but didn't consider herself "depressed." I talked her into getting an evaluation for depression; so she went to her doctor, who prescribed Zoloft. Six weeks later, she got pregnant!

So there really is something to that "old wives' tale" that being stressed out can keep you from getting pregnant.

I hope this information helps someone.