Getting Pregnant With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (often abbreviated to POS or PCOS) is a condition that affects how a woman’s ovaries work and affects millions of women in the UK. True PCOS is caused by the excessive production of male hormone by the adrenal glands, leading to an imbalance of LH (luteinising hormone) to FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) of more than 3:1. This results in the ovaries becoming filled with cysts of immature follicles which fail to generate eggs so getting pregnant with PCOS can be problematic. There are three features which lead to diagnosis of PCOS. Any two of these are sufficient to confirm the condition. • Cysts around the edge of the ovaries • a failure to ovulatern• a higher level of male hormones or male hormones that are more active than normal Many women go through life not even knowing they have harmless (benign) ovarian cysts that don’t affect their fertility or ability for getting pregnant. However women with PCOS often fail to ovulate or they ovulate infrequently. The symptoms of PCOS usually become apparent in a girl’s late teens or early twenties. But sometimes the condition is not diagnosed until a woman either fails to conceive or has repeated miscarriages. As well as the difficulties in getting pregnant with PCOS there is some evidence to suggest that the condition is linked to an increased risk of miscarriage. However, the exact role that polycystic ovary syndrome plays in miscarriages is unclear. In many women, the only symptoms of PCOS are menstrual problems or a failure to conceive. Not all women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have all of the symptoms. Each symptom can vary from mild to severe and can include: • irregular or no menstrual periods • difficulties getting pregnant because of irregular ovulation or failure to ovulatern• excessive hair growth • weight gainrn• thinning hair and hair lossrn• oily skin or acne A woman with PCOS will most often be treated with fertility drugs alongside female and pituitary hormones. For the vast majority of sufferers modern drug therapy can result in regular ovulation but only about 65% of these women will manage to conceive successfully. Pregnancy risks If you have PCOS, you have a higher risk of pregnancy complications, such as high blood pressure (hypertension), pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and miscarriage. Women with PCOS who are obese have a particularly high risk, especially if they also have high testosterone levels and body hair growth.