New research highlights way of preventing stress-related infertility

A new study has cast new light on the genetic factors linking stress with a higher chance of infertility – as well as highlighting potential methods of disrupting this link.

The University of California Berkeley research, which was conducted using rats, looked at the long-term impact of pre-conception stress on female reproductive fitness and pregnancy, revealing marked and persistent reproductive dysfunction even after recovery from stress.

Stressed females were less motivated to mate, became pregnant less often and were less likely to give birth successfully. However, these effects were completely eliminated when scientists knocked out a gene called RFRP3.

Since this gene encodes for a hormone common to all mammals, the findings could potentially be applied not only to humans, but also to endangered animals that rely on captive breeding to survive.

Graduate student lead author Anna Geraghty said: "A strikingly high proportion of healthy women struggle with fertility and our findings provide a new focus for the clinical study of human reproductive health."

Around one in seven couples in the UK may have difficulty conceiving – equivalent to approximately 3.5 million people across the country.