If you have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), you may be finding it difficult to get pregnant.
This is due to one of the affects of PCOS which is causing your hormones to be imbalanced.
If one hormone is imbalanced, another hormone will then be imbalanced, which causes yet another hormone to be imbalanced, and so on.
This vicious domino effect that takes place in your body causes your menstrual cycles to be irregular.
If your menstrual cycle is irregular, you're most likely having problems with ovulation.
The cause of PCOS is still not very clear but there seems to be a genetic link.
If your mother and/or sister have PCOS, you are fifty percent more likely to have PCOS as well.
You are not alone in with having to deal with PCOS as it is one of the leading causes of infertility in women.
In fact, according to the U.
S.
Department of Health and Human Services, about ten percent of women of childbearing age has PCOS.
This statistic, though daunting, actually can be comforting to you.
If ten percent of women of childbearing age have PCOS, surely there are a lot of women that have PCOS have had children.
Therefore, it is not impossible for you to get pregnant despite having PCOS.
There are some things that you should do in order to manage PCOS and increase your chances of getting pregnant.
Actually, these methods are things that you should do even if you do not plan on getting pregnant as PCOS does also affect your appearance in the form of weight gain and acne, as well as even more serious health problems such as diabetes and heart disease.
Unfortunately, there is no magic pill that will get rid of your PCOS but you can take control over it by adjusting your lifestyle.
Regular exercise, a healthy diet, becoming a non-smoker (for those that are smokers), and controlling your weight are basics of treating PCOS.
As previously mentioned, you will want to do all of these things when you become pregnant anyway so it does make sense to start now.
A doctor may prescribe fertility drugs such as clomiphene (Clomid) but you should not be lulled into a sense of security by believing all will be well by taking fertility drugs.
A healthy lifestyle is something you should strive for as it will be best, not only for you, but for your future baby.
It may also help to think of your pregnancy as a twelve-month gestation period instead of the typical nine.
Use three months to start your change and get used to your new lifestyle and once you get pregnant, you'll have the next nine months to maintain it.
Weight loss and quitting smoking may sound like a fall back answer and it may not be what you want to hear as we are accustomed to taking pills for just about everything but there are real results that happen from doing these two things.
For example, it has been shown that losing even ten pounds can increase your chances of getting pregnant by getting your hormones in balance, thus regulating your menstrual cycle.
Ten pounds is not a lot to lose and even more is better.
There are a litany of reasons why you should quit smoking but instead of waiting until you actually are pregnant, you should consider that researchers have found that women who smoke have higher levels of androgen, which are male hormones, in their systems.
All women have androgen but in very small amounts but too much androgen causes your body to grow facial hair, get acne, and it may even stop your menstrual cycle altogether.
If you do want to get pregnant, have PCOS, and are a smoker, though it is difficult to quit, it may be the best thing you will ever do for yourself.
Again, you'll need to quit smoking once you get pregnant so you may as well start now.