BEIJING, May 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The emotional burden of infertility actively undermines many women’s ability to make lasting lifestyle changes, including weight loss and physical activity, that can improve their chances of becoming pregnant.
At a global conference on assisted reproduction in Beijing today, it was learned that the gap between lifestyle recommendations and action for women suffering from the emotional stress of infertility is not a matter of will, but rather a matter of psychology.
Infertility affects one in six couples worldwide and the causes are shared equally between men and women. Professor Anuja Dokras, an internationally renowned researcher and patient advocate in the field of fertility health, said that up to 60 percent of affected women experience mental health problems, including anger, sadness, isolation, shame and guilt.
“Yet only about 20% seek professional psychological support,” she said at the 2026 conference of the Asia-Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE).
“Most of these women internalize blame for their inability to conceive and shame predicts emotional eating and avoidance of health care.
“Women seeking fertility treatment experience significantly higher levels of anxiety, depression, and psychiatric disorders than men, and the severity of these conditions is influenced by the cause and duration of infertility, the type of treatment, and the number of failed IVF cycles.”
Professor Dokras is Executive Director of the Women’s Health Center for Clinical Innovation and Founding Professor of Women’s Health in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She is also the Director of the PENN Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Center and specializes in understanding cardiometabolic risk and mental health comorbidities associated with PCOS.
Professor Dokras said women who were obese or living with metabolic disorders associated with PCOS were significantly less likely to conceive than their healthy counterparts.
“In women with PCOS, visible symptoms, including hirsutism and weight gain, intensify the dynamics of weight stigma with increased prevalence of eating disorders, anxiety and depression.
“It is essential that the clinical encounter itself can reinforce barriers when lifestyle advice is delivered through a weight-focused lens, without psychological scaffolding.
“A weight-focused approach to counseling is seen as stigmatizing and counterproductive. Clinicians should speak the language of self-care, not weight goals.”
Professor Dokras said integrated lifestyle and psychological support, based on evidence, was key to helping women overcome barriers to achieving better fertility treatment outcomes.
“Evidence from randomized controlled trials supports the integration of cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based interventions alongside lifestyle programs,” she explained.
“They demonstrate significant reductions in depression, anxiety and infertility-specific distress as well as improved quality of life.
“Effective support requires reframing lifestyle change as self-care, systematically screening for psychological distress throughout the treatment cycle, avoiding stigmatizing language, and integrating mental health provision into fertility services as standard practice.”
Around 3,000 fertility health specialists – including scientists, clinicians, nurses and counselors – are attending the ASPIRE conference at the China National Convention Center in Beijing.
For more information, visit https://www.aspire2026.com
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SOURCE ASPIRE
