How to get pregnant with PCOS naturally
When you are diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), you may have been told that it could be challenging for you to get pregnant in the future. However, rest assured that having PCOS is not an absolute barrier to conceiving naturally. Most women with PCOS will be able to get pregnant with positive lifestyle changes and non-invasive support.
If you have been trying to conceive for 12 months or more without success (or 6 months if you’re over 35), it’s important to see your doctor. They can help identify any underlying issues and offer treatment options to increase your chances of conception, including ovulation induction or other fertility treatments.
Losing weight to trigger ovulation
Not all women who have PCOS are overweight, but most women with PCOS find that their periods will stop when they gain weight and ovulation will also become irregular.
PCOS can make it more difficult for the body to use the hormone insulin, which normally helps convert sugars and starches from foods into energy.
Reaching your healthy weight with PCOS can trigger the ovulation process to return to normal. Taking up a physical activity which you enjoy can be great for motivation to exercise regularly and burn calories. Eating a balanced diet will also help to reach a healthy weight. Scientific research found that a combination of eating a healthier diet and regular brisk walking improved menstrual cycle regularity.
Speak to your doctor to understand your symptoms better and how to help you reach your healthy weight and conceive.
How to induce ovulation naturally in PCOS
There are steps that you can take in your day-to-day life in order to bring about ovulation naturally when you have PCOS. Improving your exercise habits in order to maintain a healthy weight, and making changes to your diet, as detailed below, can both help. Avoiding processed foods and foods with added sugar helps to balance insulin levels and improve hormonal imbalance in the body.
“Women with a history of irregular periods possibly indicating Polycystic Ovaries or women with heavy and painful periods probably suggesting endometriosis should be aware that their fertility may be compromised, and they should seek fertility advice even if they are not planning a baby ‘just yet’.”
A PCOS-friendly diet
There are a number of changes you can make to your diet to help get pregnant:
- Increase the intake of whole grains such as brown bread and brown pasta, rye, barley instead of refined white grains — to help you stabilise your insulin levels — this may improve the hormonal imbalance and help weight loss if needed.
- Always eat a good breakfast — making breakfast the biggest meal and dinner the easier to digest to help balance hormones.
- Include lean protein — and make sure you have your greens every day. Include healthy fats in your diet — to help improve insulin levels (nuts, seeds, olive oil, oily fish).
Getting pregnant with PCOS after 30
Natural fertility begins to decline significantly for women around age 32. Women over 30 with untreated PCOS will have greater risks associated with pregnancy, but a healthy pregnancy is still possible. Because of the insulin resistance that is often an issue for women with PCOS, one of these increased risks is gestational diabetes, when a woman develops diabetes during pregnancy. To prevent and manage this, it is important to follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly. Women with PCOS need a glucose screening earlier during pregnancy than at the routine 24-28 weeks.
Tracking your cycle is also very useful to improve your chances of conceiving, as it helps you better understand your cycle and predict if and when you’re ovulating. There are a number of tools and apps available to help with this. Medication to increase your chances of conceiving is available for women with PCOS who are trying to get pregnant.
Medication given for PCOS
Your doctor might consider treating you with the following medication to achieve or improve ovulation:
Metformin treatment
Sometimes your doctor may consider prescribing a medication for you called metformin. This is an option for some but not all women. It has been used for many years to treat diabetes, and it is also known to be beneficial in some women with Polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Some of the benefits in women with PCOS include:
- An improvement in the way that your body responds to insulin – It makes your body more sensitive to insulin, but it does not cause low blood sugar levels.
- It can reduce the level of androgen hormones (these will cause symptoms such as increased hair growth, acne, or hair loss on your scalp)
- It may help to regulate your periods, ovulation and improve fertility
Ovulation induction
Ovulation induction is a treatment used to help women who have trouble ovulating (releasing eggs from the ovaries) on their own, often due to conditions like PCOS. In this treatment, medications are used to stimulate the ovaries to produce and release an eggThe goal of ovulation induction is to improve the chances of pregnancy by regulating the menstrual cycle and encouraging ovulation at the right time.
The process usually involves:
- Medications – Common medications include oral treatments like Letrozole or clomiphene citrate (Clomid) and sometimes injectable hormones like gonadotropins
- Monitoring – Your doctor will monitor your response to the medication, often through blood tests and ultrasound scans, to ensure that ovulation occurs safely.
- Timing – Once ovulation is triggered, your doctor may advise you on the best time for intercourse or perform an IUI (intrauterine insemination) to increase the chances of conception.
This process is usually done in rounds of 3 or 6 – and if you are not pregnant after this your doctor will discuss next steps with you, and often this will involve considering the option of IVF.
Other treatment options
- Clomid (clomiphene) treatment – to help induce ovulation, though not successful for everyone.
- Letrozole (Femara) — often prescribed if Clomid doesn’t work.
- Gonadotropins for ovulation induction — injectable fertility drugs similar to those used in IVF. This requires ultrasound monitoring to reduce the risks of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and multiple births.
If gonadotropins are not successful, the next step is usually in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
How Inofolic Alpha can help
For women with PCOS who have insulin resistance, treatment with Inofolic Alpha has been proven to make significant improvements to hormone levels and may help restore and regularise periods. Inofolic Alpha is much more effective than myo-inositol alone (ie myo-inositol + folic acid products). Moreover, Inofolic Alpha improves absorption of myo-inositol and reduces inflammation – an underlying pathology in PCOS.
The evidence shows that not only does Inofolic Alpha have numerous benefits for women with PCOS who are trying to get pregnant, but—unlike some other medications—it has a virtual absence of side effects when taken at the recommended dose. Studies have also shown it to be safe and well-tolerated, making it a gentle but effective option for supporting reproductive health.
Guide authored by PCOS supplement provider, Fertility Family.
