According to a report by National Center for Health Statics only 12% of the women face fertility related problems, so either if you are trying a pregnancy or simply wondering if you are fertile
CONGRATULATIONS!! Odds are already in your favor. Ideally, the majority of couples get pregnant within 3 to 12 months of trying and moreover here are few tell signs that you are fertile enough to wash your doubts.
1. Your periods are regular
One of the most obvious signs of fertility is regular periods. Hence if you get your periods in a regular duration of 24 to 35 days your hormones are in perfect balance and your ovaries are producing an egg every month.
2. You have an ideal weight
However, your body weight has nothing to do with your fertility unless your periods are regular however weighing either too much or too little can invite fertility issues. In skinny women, a little fat can lead to difficulties in getting pregnant because their bodies conserve energy for the proper function of the other parts and may shut down ovulation. On the flipside, women with too much body fat can disrupt the functioning of hormones responsible for ovulation. Though in most of the cases heavy and thin women do get pregnant yet gaining or losing to reach a healthy Mass Body Index (MBI) would be a smart move for a healthier pregnancy and fast recovery from postpartum.
3. You don’t have a problem of fibroids and endometriosis
Women usually have a habit of ignoring subtle symptoms until they emerge as bigger issues. Ladies, pelvic pain, heavy, long and extremely painful periods can be signs of endometriosis or fibroids. Though, either of the conditions are not an issue in conceiving a child yet your chances of getting fertility related issues increases.
4. You are away from smoking and alcohol consumption
Smoking and drinking can severely damage your eggs and derail ovulation which leads to delayed or no pregnancy. Moreover, the risk of infertility increases if your partner smokes too, so if you are away from smoking you have good odds to conceive.
5. You can track when you are ovulating
Most commonly women ovulate in the mid of their cycle but ovulation can take place anywhere
between 6-7 to 19-20 day of the cycle. You are lucky if you can track the subtle signs and change in vaginal mucus that indicates ovulation.
6. You have regular check on STDs
Certain bacterial infections can spread to reproductive organs, like gonorrhea and chlamydia that may cause PID (pelvic inflammatory disease). Such infections can later lead to serious damage to fallopian tubes, ovaries and uterus if remained undetected. Sadly, despite of clear signs of PID infection like irregular bleeding, and pain during sex and urination two-third of the times it goes unnoticed and creates issues later. So if you haven’t got yourself checked for STDs lately and preparing for a baby, it’s a good time to visit your doctor.
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Different types of PCOS also have different symptoms – not all women with PCOS are overweight, or not everyone may get acne or facial hair. This may delay diagnosis and proper treatment. But irregular cycles and missing period affect all women with PCOS and is the most important symptom no matter which type of PCOS is present. To treat PCOS, you need to know the different types of PCOS and identify them. It is also possible that you may have more than 1 type of PCOS.
Inflammatory PCOS
Exercising regularly, eliminating gluten and sugar from my diets has worked wonders by controlling the inflammation in my body and also my blood sugar. I have stopped using paraben, sulfate-loaded cosmetic, bath, and cleaning products as they disrupt the endocrine glands causing hormone imbalance. Seed cycling is another tool for getting your cycle back on track, balancing your hormones Seed cycling is the rotation of different edible seeds into the diet at different times in the menstrual cycle. Consuming this on a regular basis has helped me get my periods on track. Once my periods got regular, I have reduced PMS and cramps, and also the periods are shorter than my usual seven-day cycle. This is a great fix for hormone imbalance, PCOD, and menopause symptoms.
Insulin resistant PCOS
Insulin resistance means having high insulin. The best way to test for insulin resistance is to measure the hormone insulin (not glucose). The treatment of insulin-resistant PCOS is to reverse insulin resistance with diet, exercise, and supplements like magnesium and inositol.
Adrenal PCOS
If DHEA-S is high androgen this can indicate an adrenal type of PCOS. DHEA-S is an adrenal androgen (testosterone is produced in the ovaries). Adrenal PCOS is not driven by insulin resistance or inflammation. Instead, it’s an abnormal response to stress. Treatments include stress reduction, magnesium, and vitamin B5.
Post-pill PCOS
When getting off birth control pills, you can experience a surge in androgens on called post-pill PCOS. This is developed due to the pills which suppress ovulation. For most women, these effects do not last long and they resume ovulating after the effect of the pill is over. This can be treated with a healthy diet and lifestyle as well.
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As a part of our Pregnancy Blogs 2021, let’s talk about the difficulties couples can have with conception if the partner is suffering from PCOS.
PCOS does not mean infertility. Infertility itself is due to many reasons and PCOS is probably just one of them. But PCOS does not mean you cannot get pregnant. Many doctors are quick to prescribe birth control pills but frankly, this just ends up messing the entire hormone system and the period which you get with a pill is not even a real bleed.
I was diagnosed with PCOS in my teens and my gynecologist gave me hormone pills to induce my menstrual cycles. She told me it is not a problem unless you have difficulty in conception. Luckily, I had no difficulty conceiving my first child but after 3 years of my first baby, my periods suddenly stopped altogether. It had been ten months since I got my period. I had some spotting now and then but no bleeding.
A visit to my OB/GYN ran a series of tests. She told me my PCOS had flared and I may not able to conceive again. I was shocked because I never expected this. And I was put on treatment which included birth control pills to regularize periods, a medication called metformin to prevent diabetes, and exercise to stop weight gain. Luckily I had regular menstrual cycles in a few months and conceived my second baby naturally.
I have gone that road but then side effects started presenting- weight gain, bloating, fatigue, body pains, mood swings, period cramps, inflammation, and PMDD or Post Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder (a type of PMS which causes depression). I didn’t want to get back on any hormone or birth control pills as they gave me a lot of breast pain and mood swings.
Today, my PCOS is in check. All it takes is to identify the type of PCOS that you are suffering from and learn to manage it and bring it under control with a lot of lifestyle changes and this is not a one-time thing. Natural ovulation and a healthy period is key to good fertility and this is what increases the chance of conception. So while on a PCOS journey, the aim should be to improve the overall hormone health, induce natural ovulation, and menstrual cycle.
Pregnancy Blogs 2021: Types of PCOS
There are 4 types of PCOS and knowing which type you have is important to choose the right management protocol. Each type of PCOS can be managed with the right treatments and lifestyle changes. Some of these treatments only work for some women some of the time.
Different types of PCOS also have different symptoms – not all women with PCOS are overweight, or not everyone may get acne or facial hair. This may delay diagnosis and proper treatment. But irregular cycles and missing period affect all women with PCOS and is the most important symptom no matter which type of PCOS is present. To treat PCOS, you need to know the different types of PCOS and identify them. It is also possible that you may have more than 1 type of PCOS.
Inflammatory PCOS
Exercising regularly, eliminating gluten and sugar from my diets has worked wonders by controlling the inflammation in my body and also my blood sugar. I have stopped using paraben, sulfate-loaded cosmetic, bath, and cleaning products as they disrupt the endocrine glands causing hormone imbalance. Seed cycling is another tool for getting your cycle back on track, balancing your hormones Seed cycling is the rotation of different edible seeds into the diet at different times in the menstrual cycle. Consuming this on a regular basis has helped me get my periods on track. Once my periods got regular, I have reduced PMS and cramps, and also the periods are shorter than my usual seven-day cycle. This is a great fix for hormone imbalance, PCOD, and menopause symptoms.
Insulin resistant PCOS
Insulin resistance means having high insulin. The best way to test for insulin resistance is to measure the hormone insulin (not glucose). The treatment of insulin-resistant PCOS is to reverse insulin resistance with diet, exercise, and supplements like magnesium and inositol.
Adrenal PCOS
If DHEA-S is high androgen this can indicate an adrenal type of PCOS. DHEA-S is an adrenal androgen (testosterone is produced in the ovaries). Adrenal PCOS is not driven by insulin resistance or inflammation. Instead, it’s an abnormal response to stress. Treatments include stress reduction, magnesium, and vitamin B5.
Post-pill PCOS
When getting off birth control pills, you can experience a surge in androgens on called post-pill PCOS. This is developed due to the pills which suppress ovulation. For most women, these effects do not last long and they resume ovulating after the effect of the pill is over. This can be treated with a healthy diet and lifestyle as well.
I had Insulin resistant PCOS. Exercising regularly, eliminating gluten and sugar from my diets has worked wonders by controlling the inflammation in my body and also my blood sugar. I have stopped using paraben, sulfate-loaded cosmetic, bath, and cleaning products as they disrupt the endocrine glands causing hormone imbalance. Seed cycling is another tool for getting your cycle back on track, balancing your hormones. Seed cycling is the rotation of different edible seeds into the diet at different times in the menstrual cycle. Consuming this on a regular basis has helped me get my periods on track. Once my periods got regular, I have reduced PMS and cramps, and also the periods are shorter than my usual seven-day cycle. This is a great fix for hormone imbalance, PCOD, and menopause symptoms.
Medical Treatments For PCOS
Medications: Doctor might prescribe medicine to help with ovulation.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) may be an option if medicine does not work. IVF has higher pregnancy rates
Surgery: Surgery is done only when the other options do not work. The outer shell (called the cortex) of ovaries is thickened in women with PCOS and thought to play a role in preventing spontaneous ovulation. Ovarian drilling is a surgery in which the doctor makes a few holes in the surface of your ovary using lasers or a fine needle heated with electricity. Surgery usually restores ovulation, but only for 6 to 8 months. Source: womenshealth.gov
Tasneem Akbari Kutubuddin has done her masters in Journalism & Communication and has worked as a senior journalist, editor and columnist for leading publications like The Logical Indian, Deccan Chronicle, Worldwide Media Corporation, The Bridge and Provoke.
With Infano, she hopes to create more awareness about women’s health issues. Suffering with Fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, she has also been advocating for its awareness through media.
