According to the findings of a new study, published in the February 24 edition of the British Medical Journal, the success of a woman’s fertility treatment is not affected by emotional stress and tension.

On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of 14 previous studies involving 3,583 women, researchers from Cardiff University have refuted the earlier claims that emotional distress prevents women from becoming pregnant.

The studies that were analyzed had the stress levels of women assessed before the commencement of the treatment and after they has undergone a single cycle of assisted reproductive therapy.

For each of the studies, the researchers looked at whether women who were stressed before the start of their treatment were any more or less likely to become pregnant. A comparison of women who were able to conceive to those who were not revealed that there was not link between emotional distress and the chances of becoming pregnant.

Noting that it was a “common myth” that the effectiveness of fertility treatment in women was impeded if the women were stressed, lead researcher, Professor Jacky Boivin, elaborated: “Women having fertility treatment who do not get pregnant early on often blame themselves for getting too stressed out and the longer they remain not pregnant the more stressed they get. This just reinforces the myth.”