PCOS And Infertility: Here's What You Need To Know

PCOS is a common disorder in women. This condition needs immediate care and delaying the treatment can have detrimental effect on health. So, what are the bodily changes a woman goes through if she has PCOS? The biggest hallmark sign of it is irregular or absent menstrual periods. All these happen because of hormonal imbalance in the body. In women with PCOS, the body produces more male hormone than normal levels. When a woman is suffering from PCOS, instead of a follicle maturing and an egg getting released to be fertilized for pregnancy, the follicle hardly matures and sometimes the egg doesn't get released from the ovary. Tiny follicles, which appear as a string of pearls on an ultrasound, sometimes surround the ovary. These follicles are called cysts due to their appearance, although they differ from the other type of cyst occurring the in the ovary.

Tips to fight PCOS related complications

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However, lifestyle modification is one of the primary treatments that is offered to women suffering from PCOS:

You won't believe how small changes can make a big difference in regulating hormones and preparing your body for pregnancy. These will also improve your egg quality and an ovulation and increase your chances of getting pregnant. If you are overweight, losing as little as 5% of your total body weight has been shown to improve fertility in PCOS. Making changes to your diet, exercise, stress level, and sleep quality can also help improve your fertility as well.

Losing weight can help fight PCOS effectively
Photo Credit: iStock

Healthy Diet

Antioxidant-rich diets are considered the best for the ones, who are suffering from this condition. Antioxidant-rich diets are the one that have carbohydrates which are unprocessed. For making optimal health, certain carbohydrates need to be a part of the diets of women with PCOS. These include fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, and grains such as oats and quinoa.

Also read: PCOS Awareness Month: Know If You Have PCOS, Endometriosis Or Both

Vitamin D

Vitamin D deficiency is seen in many women suffering from PCOS, hence supplementing Vitamin D in women to a large extent helps improving their hormonal imbalance to some extent.

Also read: Post Oral Contraceptives PCOS And Acne: Here's What You Need To Know

Regular Physical Activity

It has been seen that regular exercise can improve ovulation. Try and get involved in at least half an hour of moderate intensity physical activity each day.

Also read: PCOS Management: Here Are Some Tips To Fight Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Naturally; Know Symptoms And Complications

(Dr. Aswati Nair is a gynecologist and Fertility Consultant, Nova IVF, New Delhi)

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