Conceiving a child when you have PCOS – What you need to know?
If you’re frustrated because you’ve been told that getting conceived with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) is impossible, and that you probably won’t be able to have your own child ever, please don’t. Things are not as bleak as they appear. Getting pregnant with PCOS is possible. Read and learn about ways to properly deal with PCOS to raise your likelihood of conceiving and taking it to full term.
PCOS is one of many main causes of infertility in women. Although it is more difficult for women with PCOS to become pregnant and there is a significant possibility for miscarriage, many women afflicted with this condition successfully gave birth to healthy babies, showing that getting conceived with PCOS is possible.
What is PCOS?
Women with PCOS have many small abnormal growths (fluid-filled sacs) in their ovaries that prevent the ovaries from operating normally, interfering with ovulation and endocrine synthesis. This leads to hormonal imbalance thereby disturbs fertility.
PCOS has been associated with raised male hormone levels (e.g. testosterone), insulin levels and glucose levels. All these irregularities could meddle with implantation and development of the embryo. Abnormal insulin levels may also produce poor egg quality.
The precise reason for PCOS continues to be not known. It may be inherited, could possibly be related to diabetes and the use of specific seizure medications.
Apart from the existence of cysts, some other frequent PCOS symptoms include amenorrhea (no period) or infrequent periods (infrequent or no ovulation), irregular hemorrhage, overweight, abnormal production of male hormone testosterone (symptoms like excess facial and body hair growth), and infertility.
Fertility help in PCOS
PCOS cannot be cured, but can be managed effectively, and therefore enhancing your fertility level.
1. Medical treatment options
Since there is a hormonal imbalance problem, doctors commonly prescribe oral contraceptive pills to women with PCOS to help reinstate hormonal balance and regulate menstruation. However, this may not be what you want given that your goal is to conceive and not to avoid pregnancy.
To induce ovulation, doctors might prescribe ovulation medicines, such as Clomid. Fertility drugs like this induce your body to make multiple ova, while by nature your body only lets out a single egg every cycle.
Sometimes, doctors will use the medicine metformin, which is given to treat diabetes, in order to reestablish normal ovulation and fertility in women suffered from PCOS.
2. Lifestyle changes
There are quite a few things you could do to improve your likelihood of getting pregnant with PCOS. Adopting a healthy diet and doing exercises routinely can help very much in enhancing fertility. If you are overweight, shedding even just 5% of body weight can certainly make a big change in fertility. Cutting down fat and carbs consumption helps control blood insulin levels and improve fertility naturally in PCOS.
3. Natural treatments
Natural herbal remedies are available to help getting conceived with PCOS, through stimulating ovulation and balancing your hormones. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which usually involves the use of herbs and acupuncture, are also pretty useful. TCM has been noted to correct a high percentage of PCOS-related infertility within a few months of therapy. Nevertheless, don’t mix herbal therapy with the medicines your doctor prescribed to avoid undesirable outcomes. If you want to find out more on how TCM can help improve fertility naturally in PCOS, you can check out the Pregnancy Miracle guide.
Having PCOS is not a death sentence; it does not necessarily mean that you’ll never have children. Getting conceived with PCOS is actually possible, it just implies that you have additional work to do, and will require a bit more care and treatment as compared to your sister or girlfriend.