When conceiving a child is not going as you had planned, trying to become pregnant is more like work than pleasure. Enter stress, which often plays havoc with your fertility.

The topic of stress came up over and over at the workshop about mind/body medicine I attended last week. It was conducted by the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Learning about how to elicit the Relaxation Response (RR) was one of the components of the course. The RR is a state of quiet in the mind and body that reduces tension, and lowers blood pressure, breathing, and heart rate. To elicit the RR, you can do any number of activities such as meditate, pray, or practice progressive muscle relaxation. To get the desired effect of the RR, it’s important to sit in a comfortable position in a quiet environment for at least 10 minutes, two times a day.

It’s no great surprise that women who are having problems getting pregnant report feeling feelings of stress more often than more fertile women. Training yourself to feel calmer by eliciting the RR may be helpful when tension gets the better of you. It’s beneficial no matter what your stage of life, however. The Relaxation Response and Beyond the Relaxation Response are two books by Herbert Benson, MD, who has been teaching people about the benefits of calming down for more than 35 years.

If you’re struggling with getting pregnant, I suggest Conquering Infertility: Dr. Alice Domar’s Mind/Body Guide to Enhancing Fertility and Coping with Infertility as a resource. Dr. Domar is the head of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health Waltham, MA. She has conducted studies that show that there is a connection between your mind and your body when it comes to fertility. Check out her book and the Domar Center at www.domarcenter.com.