The past month was anything but easy. As a collective, we had to come to terms with many existential feelings while also holding space for grief, heartbreak, and anxiety to pass through. While life goes on, the emotions stay stuck, influencing decisions and leading conversations wherever they can.
These feelings are heightened by couples undergoing family planning, as the emotional toll adds a new layer to the already heavy weight of fertility treatments and the process of pregnancy. And this isn’t guesswork, for Dr Vassiliki Simoglou, Clinical Director and CDA-licensed Clinical Psychologist at Almond Blossoms Fertility & Wellbeing Centre in Dubai, there has been a rise in anxious patients over the past month, reaching out to the doctor for some relief.
In a Q&A with Soigné, she details how those in this already vulnerable period of time can navigate this stress, how it appears physically, and how we as a community can come together to help them.
Since the start of the war, how has the conversation surrounding fertility changed?
What I’m witnessing in my work is a polarisation of responses. Some couples experience a new sense of urgency, a need to proceed with treatment now, before the situation escalates further and access to care becomes uncertain. Others are pulling back and postponing treatment, particularly those who have been directly exposed to the events, whose nervous systems are still processing what they have witnessed. Couples are also asking existential questions about safety, about where they want to raise a child, and are carrying that weight alongside an already demanding treatment journey.
The current situation is affecting everyone negatively. But how does this impact show on pregnant women?
Pregnancy is already a period of heightened emotional sensitivity, even in stable conditions. When you layer uncertainty and external stress on top of that, that sensitivity becomes intensified; there’s more anxiety, more hypervigilance, disrupted sleep, and a constant low-grade fear. For some, it shows physically like headaches, tension, and exhaustion that goes beyond what pregnancy alone explains. I also see a specific kind of grief in women who had imagined pregnancy as a joyful time, but are instead living it under the shadow of conflict, often carrying a quiet guilt for not feeling as connected or as positive as they thought they would.
How does chronic stress influence reproductive health from a clinical psychology standpoint?
Chronic stress activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, sustaining elevated cortisol that can disrupt ovulation, hormonal balance, sleep, and the physiological environment of the body overall. For couples in IVF specifically, the science is nuanced. Multiple well-designed prospective studies, including research published in Fertility and Sterility and Reproductive Biomedicine Online, have found that psychological and physiological stress do not significantly affect clinical pregnancy rates. A 2024 systematic review noted that higher chronic stress may be associated with fewer oocytes retrieved at egg retrieval, but this did not consistently translate into lower pregnancy rates. This evidence supports the idea that stress is not a deciding factor in IVF success. Stress matters for how you feel and cope, but it is not something that will make or break your chances; it is important to emphasise this, because many individuals fear that their anxiety might be working against them, or that they’re not “calm enough” for treatment.
How can we show up for pregnant women who are currently navigating the uncertainty of this time?
The most important thing for a pregnant woman is for us to listen to her, not to placate her worries with forced reassurance, but to allow her to actually express her feelings, before trying to make things better. Phrases like “everything will work out in the end”, however well-intended, tend to invalidate rather than provide comfort. What is genuinely more supportive is acknowledging that this is a difficult and unusual time. Then we can show up by helping her stay grounded in what is known and stable right now. That looks like encouraging small, daily routines, and allowing for mixed emotions to coexist; one can feel grateful and anxious, hopeful and uncertain, all at the same time and that is ok.
And for pregnant women currently dealing with anxiety, what are the things they can do to manage it during this time?
There are a few evidence-based practices that make a real difference in dealing with anxiety and are what I would recommend. First, slow extended exhales to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Intentional limits on news exposure, especially in the hours before sleep. Small, predictable, daily rituals, which provide internal stability, especially when the external world feels chaotic. Specific time frames to think or talk about concerns, rather than letting them spill into the whole day. And, finally, connection with people who feel safe, because shared presence reduces threat perception in a way that solitary coping cannot.
If anxiety is persistent or affecting your daily life, seeking psychological support during pregnancy is not a last resort, but something every woman navigating difficulty deserves.
