ROCKVILLE, Md. - Some women in the D.C.-area are using unconventional methods to become pregnant. ABC 7/NewsChannel 8 reporter Suzanne Kennedy shows how exercise and relaxation may help a future mother's dream come true.

There's nothing Tammy Brant wants more than to be pregnant. She's turned to holistic medicine to achieve that lifetime goal.

"I am hopeful it's going to help me get pregnant," she said.

The 34-year-old has been trying for more than three years to have a baby. She is now practicing yoga aimed at increasing her fertility in her effort to become a mother.

"Yoga is so wonderful for just giving you a place to be still and to focus on your breathing and to stop worrying about all the other things," she said.

Doctors say extreme stress can interfere with a woman's ovulation, so classes like one offered in Rockville work to clear would-be mothers' minds and encourage their bodies to become pregnant.

Instructor Beth Heller started teaching yoga for fertility after she had a difficult time getting pregnant.

"It is slowly paced -- you really focus on the breath. We focus on improved blood flow. We're targeting postures for the belly, for the [lower] back," Heller said.

Alternative medicine experts say certain yoga poses can open the pelvis, increase blood flow and rebalance hormones.

While fertility experts say there's been no conclusive study on the benefits of yoga to fertility, they say it does help women cope.

"Relaxation, reduction of stress, alteration of blood flow -- all those would seem to be and apparently are good things for patients going through many different medical therapies -- certainly fertility," noted Dr. Robert Stillman, a fertility expert.

As for Brant, she says yoga is an important part of her journey toward motherhood.

Stress can also impact women who are going through infertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization. Research shows that more eggs are retrieved and successfully implanted in women who have used stress reduction methods such as yoga.

 Email To Friend