According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health, one in ten women suffers from PCOS during childbearing. PCOS causes abnormalities during your menstrual cycle, making it difficult to get pregnant.
At Collaborative Women's Care, Dr. Eduardo Valdes is an expert in obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Valdes evaluates your condition and provides customized care and fertility treatments when you struggle to get pregnant with PCOS.
Polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS, is a problem that affects your ovaries. When you live with PCOS, your ovaries make too many hormones known as androgens.
Excessive hormone production results in the imbalance of your reproductive hormones that regulate your menstrual cycle. For this reason, women with PCOS often have irregular periods and other symptoms such as:
Infertility is one of the common symptoms related to PCOS. If you have irregular menstrual cycles and trouble getting pregnant, Dr. Valdes screens you for PCOS.
Some women with PCOS won't have any symptoms and may even get pregnant without difficulty. It's possible to have PCOS and not even know it until you try getting pregnant and have trouble.
PCOS is one of the most common causes of female infertility. Although not everyone with PCOS will struggle to get pregnant, many women have a hard time conceiving right away.
Infertility happens with PCOS because of the irregularity in your menstrual cycle. You may not be ovulating every month or very infrequently, making it difficult to conceive.
Women with PCOS can go for months without getting a period, which is also a sign of ovulation deficiency. You can't get pregnant without ovulation, so infertility is common among women with PCOS.
While you may struggle with infertility initially, after a diagnosis of PCOS, Dr. Valdes can provide treatments to improve the condition and help you get pregnant faster.
The good news is that many women who have PCOS can get pregnant with lifestyle changes or with the help of fertility treatments. There's hope if you're newly diagnosed or have struggled with infertility and PCOS for some time.
One of the first steps to getting pregnant with PCOS is seeing Dr. Valdes. He can help you understand PCOS and what steps you need to take for the best shot at pregnancy.
You can make some lifestyle changes to increase the odds, including getting to a healthy weight. Many women with PCOS are overweight, causing problems with insulin production. Losing weight before trying to get pregnant increases your odds.
However, losing weight alone may not increase your fertility. A healthy diet paired with light to moderate exercise may help you ovulate more regularly, increasing your chances of pregnancy.
Even with weight loss, diet, and exercise, you may still require fertility treatments to conceive. These treatments include medications like Clomid paired with Metformin to stimulate ovulation.
If these treatments are unsuccessful, our team recommends Letrozole or gonadotropins to stimulate ovulation and better prepare your body to get pregnant. Doctors can use these drugs with other fertility treatments like IUI and IVF.
Although it may be slightly more difficult for you to conceive with PCOS, it's possible with the proper care and lifestyle. Our team helps you during your fertility journey every step of the way.
To get help for infertility or PCOS, don't hesitate to call our office today at 305-200-3878 to book an appointment. You can also schedule a consultation online.
