Counselling and hypnosis affect fertility

For women who stop having their periods and are not pregnant or going through menopause, counselling and even hypnosis may help them start menstruating again.Amenorrhoea is a condition in which a woman misses several menstrual periods in a row. Apart from pregnancy and menopause, having too little body fat can trigger the condition, as can stress and poor nutrition. Intensive physical exercise may also cause a woman to stop getting her period. Previous research has shown that unhealthy attitudes toward eating and weight can suppress hormones that are necessary for ovulation. By targeting these unhealthy attitudes through therapy, the researchers hoped to reverse the suppression of this hormone activity.

Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, USA, set out to see whether several months of cognitive behaviour therapy would help women start menstruating again. They screened out women who were depressed, had eating disorders, were underweight or who exercised more than 10 hours a week. After screening, the women remaining in the study were still more likely than the average woman to be perfectionists and to have a great need for social approval. They also tended to have less healthy attitudes toward eating. In the study, eight women were randomly assigned to undergo 16 therapy sessions in which they were encouraged to develop healthier attitudes toward eating and weight. The other eight women in the study did not receive any counselling. Of the eight women who underwent counselling six began menstruating again. In contrast, just one of the women who did not receive counselling got her period back completely. While psychological counselling can be helpful for women who have stopped menstruating, this treatment is time consuming and relatively expensive.

Hypnosis may offer a one-shot solution to the problem for some women. In a pilot study involving 12 women with amenorrhea, nine resumed menstruation within 12 weeks of undergoing a single session of hypnotherapy. In addition, women reported a better sense of well-being and increased self-confidence. Hypnosis may work by allowing women to regain the "forgotten knowledge" of the capacity to menstruate on a regular basis.
Hypnotherapy could be an efficacious and time-saving treatment option. Despite the promising results of the study, researcher have cautioned that the results are preliminary. The study did not include a "control" group of women who did not receive hypnosis. Controlled trials are necessary to confirm the preliminary results.

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