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A stressful life involving tight deadlines, juggling tasks and rushing from place to place has a negative effect on women trying to get pregnant, a new study says. In order to increase the chance of pregnancy, couples should adopt a relaxed attitude about having a baby. Scientists from the University of Oxford, working with the National Institutes of Health in the US, observed 274 women aged between 18 and 40 years old. The study is published in the journal Fertility and Sterility . This is the first time a study shows stress can affect having new babies. The researchers believe the stress results in increased levels of adrenaline which is the "fight or flight" hormone, and reduces the likelihood of getting pregnant, The Independent reported on Thursday.

The study found that the chance of getting pregnant for women with the highest amount of adrenaline, quantified in their saliva, was 12 percent less during their first month than those who had the least amount of adrenaline.

The first month of trying to get pregnant is set as an indicator because differences disappeared by the second month as all the most relaxed women who wanted to have a baby were already pregnant by then.

"The findings support the idea that couples should aim to stay as relaxed as they can about trying for a baby. For some people it might be relevant to look at relaxation techniques, counseling and even approaches like yoga and meditation," said lead researcher Celia Pyper.

While the role of stress in pregnancy has always been emphasized through beliefs and stories, it has never been proven scientifically before the current study.

It is suggested that the reduction of stress might be responsible for the occurrence of pregnancy among previously diagnosed infertile couples. Improved chance of pregnancy is also observed.

In collecting saliva, two factors were considered, namely cortisol, which is a hormone related to chronic stress, and alpha-amylase -- an adrenaline indicator.

The researchers found that only adrenaline levels played a part in reduced conception and that changes in cortisol levels had no effect.

"We had the hypothesis that it was going to be the chronically stressed women who had these problems. But it was very interesting that there was no link with the cortisol levels," Pyper said.

"Adrenaline comes in surges. Trying to get from A to B faster than is realistic, trying to juggle lots of things and working to tight deadlines may all trigger it," she added.

"If a larger study confirms our findings then introducing simple methods to enable people to reduce their stress levels would be a very good idea. Anything which prevents women becoming subject to investigations for sub-fertility would be in their interests."

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