How can pcos women get pregnant

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The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Female age-related fertility decline. Updated Lifestyle factors and reproductive health: taking control of your fertility. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellHealth.

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We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. When to Seek Help Most experts recommend that you seek treatment if you are not pregnant after one year of unprotected intercourse if you are under the age of Using Cervical Mucus to Predict Ovulation.

Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Related Articles. There is plenty that you can do at home and with medical treatment to keep PCOS symptoms at bay and raise your chances for a healthy pregnancy.

Being overweight has been linked to PCOS, but many women who have this condition are not overweight at all. Still, if you are carrying extra weight, you may improve your fertility and reduce other PCOS symptoms by losing just 5 percent of your weight. Exercise daily by going for a walk and getting in your steps. Any woman who is trying to get pregnant needs to have the right levels of nutrients.

Switch out sugary foods, simple carbs, and unhealthy fats for healthier choices, including:. Certain vitamins and minerals are important for a healthy pregnancy and a growing baby. Ask your doctor about the best supplements for you. Supplements that may help fertility include:.

PCOS sometimes leads to high blood sugar levels or type 2 diabetes. This may cause fertility problems. This happens because PCOS may change how your body uses insulin.

This important hormone moves sugar glucose out of the blood and into the muscles and cells where it is burned for energy. PCOS makes your body less sensitive to insulin — making it harder for it to do its job. Balancing your blood sugar levels may help you get pregnant.

Eat a healthy diet with more fiber , protein, and healthy fats. Getting plenty of daily exercise and strength training can also help your body use insulin better. In some cases, your doctor might recommend medications to help balance your blood sugar levels. A common type 2 diabetes drug called metformin or Glucophage makes your body use insulin better to help lower high blood sugar.

This can also help you get pregnant with PCOS. You might need to take metformin in low doses and only temporarily, depending on your blood sugar levels. For best results, eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly along with taking any prescribed medications to help you get pregnant. If you have PCOS your body might make more of both the male hormone testosterone and the female hormone estrogen. Too much or too little of these hormones can make it tricky to get pregnant. Polycystic ovary syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome Polycystic ovary syndrome PCOS is a health problem that affects 1 in 10 women of childbearing age. What is polycystic ovary syndrome PCOS? PCOS can cause missed or irregular menstrual periods. Irregular periods can lead to: Infertility inability to get pregnant.

In fact, PCOS is one of the most common causes of infertility in women. Development of cysts small fluid-filled sacs in the ovaries. Who gets PCOS? What are the symptoms of PCOS? Women with PCOS may miss periods or have fewer periods fewer than eight in a year. Or, their periods may come every 21 days or more often.

Some women with PCOS stop having menstrual periods. Too much hair on the face, chin, or parts of the body where men usually have hair. This is called "hirsutism. What causes PCOS? Most experts think that several factors, including genetics, play a role: High levels of androgens. Androgens are sometimes called "male hormones," although all women make small amounts of androgens. Androgens control the development of male traits, such as male-pattern baldness.

Women with PCOS have more androgens than normal. Higher than normal androgen levels in women can prevent the ovaries from releasing an egg ovulation during each menstrual cycle, and can cause extra hair growth and acne, two signs of PCOS.

High levels of insulin. Insulin is a hormone that controls how the food you eat is changed into energy. Insulin resistance is when the body's cells do not respond normally to insulin. As a result, your insulin blood levels become higher than normal. Many women with PCOS have insulin resistance, especially those who have overweight or obesity, have unhealthy eating habits, do not get enough physical activity, and have a family history of diabetes usually type 2 diabetes.

Over time, insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes. Is PCOS linked to other health problems? More than half of women with PCOS will have diabetes or prediabetes glucose intolerance before the age of High blood pressure. High blood pressure is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. Learn more about heart disease and stroke.

Unhealthy cholesterol. High cholesterol raises your risk of heart disease and stroke. Sleep apnea. This is when momentary and repeated stops in breathing interrupt sleep.

Many women with PCOS have overweight or obesity, which can cause sleep apnea. Sleep apnea raises your risk of heart disease and diabetes. Depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety are common among women with PCOS. Endometrial cancer.

Problems with ovulation, obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes all common in women with PCOS increase the risk of developing cancer of the endometrium lining of the uterus or womb. Will my PCOS symptoms go away at menopause? How is PCOS diagnosed? To help diagnose PCOS and rule out other causes of your symptoms, your doctor may talk to you about your medical history and do a physical exam and different tests: Physical exam.

Your doctor will measure your blood pressure, body mass index BMI , and waist size. They will also look at your skin for extra hair on your face, chest or back, acne, or skin discoloration. Your doctor may look for any hair loss or signs of other health conditions such as an enlarged thyroid gland. Pelvic exam. Your doctor may do a pelvic exam for signs of extra male hormones for example, an enlarged clitoris and check to see if your ovaries are enlarged or swollen.

Pelvic ultrasound sonogram.