When you are looking to get pregnant

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I clearly remember my first abdomen sonogram- I was a teenager and the technician told me: “You have micropolicystyc ovariesand you are going to have a troublesome pregnancy”.  Has this happened to you too?

Actually, I have been lucky because my ovaries were multifullicular (Gosh! Evaluation mistakes are too common!) and an estreoprogestinic pill normalized my condition in a short time (some love problems made me fall madly in love with chocolate!), and I have not had any consequences since then. But, I still feel quite lacking and a bit faulty.

A lot of girls, al lot of women are told they have a disorder, something to manage, something to face, but there is little to do.

No at all. It is not like that! A lot of women have succeeded in having regular menses, effective ovulation, and eventually they got pregnant. 

Old beliefs about polycystic ovaries have been downsized.

The Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is defined as: a syndrome which shows anovulatory cycles and hyperandrogenism, it is, also, one of the most common causes for infertility and endocrine disorders. Figures report that 75% of women who suffer from PCOS have anovulatory cycleswith the interruption of the maturation of the follicles (there are several small primary and secondary follicles, but none of them becomes dominant) as a consequence of an overproduction of LH, responsible for the symptoms of androgenism, as well (hirsutism, acne, hair loss). But suffering from PCOS does not mean infertility at all. Infertile women can’t get pregnant, but not all PCOS women are infertile- they just may need more time to conceive (technically, this is called subfertility). 70% of PCOS women succeed in getting pregnant naturally. Except specific conditions such as amenorrhea or medical treatments, women who have irregular menses may have random ovulations (in an unexpected moment of the month), sometimes they are not effective, but a pregnancy is not precluded.      

Of course, if the ovum is not in the right place to house the sperm at the right moment, the conception won’t occur. Moreover, PCOS women are more prone to blighted ovum and miscarriages. Please, don’t panic! There is some good news: when the hormonal balance is re-established, provided that a healthy life-style is essential, the rate of success increases dramatically.

If you and your partner are looking at getting pregnant, start from here:

  1. Give up smoking,it is not good for you nor for your unborn baby;
  2. Don’t drink alcohol.Metabolizing hormones needs a healthy liver;
  3. Take no more than 3 cups of coffee a day: you will keep your stress level under control (the same for energetic drink with caffeine, cola, and theine);
  4. Don’t take food supplements apart from those which favor the ovulation (inositol, manganese, omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, zinc, and multivitamins);
  5. Don’t take medicine unless strictly necessary: they may have negative effect on the development of the fertilized ovum;
  6. Take up folic acid, it prevents “spina bifida”, split spine, a very serious neurological malformation the fetus might be subjected to. The closure of the neural tube occurs within 20 days from the conception, before you may realize you are pregnant.

Make an appointment with your gynecologists for a check: if you are under 35, let you about six months’ time before starting specific cures, but if you are over 35, remember that time is running fast.

Your lifestyle is fundamental:

  • Take it easy: reduce the stress;
  • Do a little exercise: being pregnant is not drinking a glass of water, get physically ready!
  • If you need it, lose some weight: 10% of weight loss leads to a significant loss of abdominal fat, and a reduction of PCOS symptoms.
  • Eat healthily.

In the first part of your period (follicular phase, the one from the menstruation to the ovulation), the glycaemia must be stable. Otherwise, insulin, which often affects negatively the ovulation, will hinder the choice of the predominant ovum and its resulting development. Cut down on rapidly digested sugar, most of all in between the meals, keep away from snacks and sugar drinks; limit saturated fats and big servings of dairy products (fat cheese, for instance) as they would stimulate insulin excessively.

Be positive! Don’t focus yourself on pregnancy test too much, be tranquil: some good news will come!

About Stefania Cattaneo

I am Stefania Cattaneo and I am a Nutritionist Biologist. I have always been fond of sports and nutrition most of all related to the women. I work in my private office near Turin, there I see every sort of patients with really different problems and needs. Actually, I mainly deal with sports people and women who suffer from hormonal ailment linked to the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. I'll do my best to widen your knowledge (and mine as well) about this hard, difficult awkward but fascinating topic: PCOS.