Women who are struggling to become pregnant need not worry if they are stressed about getting specialist treatment, researchers said today.
A new analysis says that high stress levels make no difference to the success of fertility treatments.
Experts hope the findings will dispel the myth that stress can hamper treatment.
As infertility and treatment frequently cause stress and upset, couples can face a vicious cycle of mental turmoil.
But Professor Jacky Boivin, of the Cardiff Fertility Studies Research Group, reports: "These findings should reassure women that emotional distress caused by fertility problems or other life events co-occurring with treatment will not compromise their chance of becoming pregnant."
As many as 15 per cent of people are affected by infertility.
Professor Boivin set out to examine the evidence for the effects of stress, identifying a total of 14 pieces of research involving more than 3,500 women.
The findings, in the British Medical Journal, show no link between emotional distress and the success of treatment.
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