There are several conditions that can affect your fertility when trying to get pregnant. Identifying, understanding and treating these conditions will give you the best chance of getting pregnant. In this article I discuss one of the common conditions that women face when trying to conceive – PCOS.

What Is PCOS?

PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and is a condition that affects the female reproductive system. The condition occurs when there are a number of small cysts on the surface of the ovaries which begin to cause hormonal imbalances.

During the lead up to ovulation, a hormone called Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) causes numerous follicles to begin to grow. The follicle that grows more quickly and matures first is the one that ruptures and releases an egg. (If the last two sentences didn’t make sense, the whole process is explained in my article ‘how to have a baby‘). In normal ovaries, the remaining follicles degenerate. Polycystic ovaries occur when the remaining follicles stop developing and do not fully degenerate. The underdeveloped and immature follicles remain in small groups or bunches in the ovary . Having polycystic ovaries on their own do not have any real affect on fertility. It is when the polycystic ovaries begin to cause hormonal balances that it is called PCOS. This means you can have polycystic ovaries without PCOS, but to have PCOS you must have polycystic ovaries.

How Does Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Affect Fertility?

PCOS affects fertility due to the hormonal imbalances it creates. The reproductive system functions by responding to hormones that your body releases. These hormones effectively tell the reproductive system what to do. If your body is releasing hormones in wrong amounts, or at the wrong time, it negatively impacts your cycle and can make it extremely difficult to get pregnant. Women with PCOS have trouble getting pregnant because it can cause infrequent ovulation, poor quality or non-viable eggs and dramatically increase the chance of miscarriage.

Symptoms of PCOS

Below are a list of symptoms of PCOS.

• Irregular, infrequent or no periods – Since hormones control the function of your reproductive system, your period and cycle can be effected greatly with PCOS. It is also harder to get pregnant with PCOS as determining when ovulation occurs becomes very difficult.
• Increase or presence of acne – Due to the hormonal imbalance, increased amounts of the type of hormone ‘androgens’ may be released from the ovaries and adrenal gland. The androgens stimulate and enlarge the sebaceous glands which are responsible for secreting sebum (an oily/waxy substance) into our skin. As the glands get larger, they release more sebum, making your skin more oily and susceptible to acne.
• Increase in body hair – Ovaries produce about 25% of the female bodies testosterone needs. Polycystic ovaries can produce increased amounts of testosterone which will result in hair growth where normally males would only grow hair. These areas include on the face, breast and nipple area and inner thighs.
• Mood swings – Hormone changes and imbalances can affect your mood and how you feel. This is regularly experienced at the end of a normal menstrual cycle before your period begins (commonly known as Pre-Menstrual Syndrome, or PMS), and is caused due to changes in hormone levels that begin to shed the uterus lining . With PCOS the hormonal imbalances can be at different times which makes mood swings unpredictable in terms of severity, frequency and length.

Treatment of PCOS

PCOS can be treated in a number of ways, both naturally and with modern medicine. We will cover treatment of PCOS and how to get pregnant with PCOS in future articles.