4.7 rating on App Stores
00:00:00 Hello everyone, thank you so much for joining me today to watch this video presentation on polycystic ovary syndrome and how it affects fertility. So in this video I'll be giving you a little bit of background about PCOS, the symptoms it causes and what you have to consider if you are starting your fertility journey or trying to conceive a child and
00:00:22 you have PCOS. So a little introduction to polycystic ovary syndrome, it is a hormonal So a little introduction to polycystic ovary syndrome, it is a hormonal disorder, it affects one in ten women worldwide, those who are of a reproductive age. I know from working in clinic and from meeting so many women and treating them who have PCOS, their main concern is
00:00:47 am I going to be able to have a family of my own easily, will I be able to carry a child, will I find it a huge struggle to get pregnant. And this is why I wanted to make this video to let people know that there are many areas of support for women with PCOS to let people know that there are many areas of support for women with PCOS when it comes to fertility issues and conceiving a child and making sure that your pregnancy
00:01:11 is healthy and as pleasurable as possible. Now I would only use a holistic approach when dealing with the women I see when it comes to PCOS, there are pharmaceutical measures you can take to manage symptoms of PCOS. And the reason I have put in but prevent conception is because although later And the reason I have put in but prevent conception is because although later
00:01:33 there are medications to help with ovulation which I will talk about in later slides, often when women are initially diagnosed with PCOS during their teen years, doctors will prescribe the contraceptive pill and as we all know that if you are on the contraceptive pill you cannot get pregnant. So although the contraceptive pill we usually help to balance hormones, there
00:01:58 might be a trial and error period during the initial stages of starting the medication but trial and error period during the initial stages of starting the medication but they will usually lower and androgens or increase estrogen and progesterone to match them. So your symptoms of PCOS will be managed and you will be leading a very happy life . However
00:02:15 when it comes to the time when you want to start a family you have to go off the pill, symptoms come back and you are then met with the challenges of managing PCOS without the contraceptive pill. contraceptive pill. So a little bit more about what PCOS is exactly. So although I said in the last slide it is
00:02:37 a hormonal disorder which it is. It is also seen as an inflammatory condition and this is because with lots of women who I see in clinic when I look at their blood reports their inflammatory markers are usually extremely high. This is due sometimes to insulin resistant and a lot of inflammation in the body caused by high androgens. So the and a lot of inflammation in the body caused by high androgens. So the
00:03:01 imbalance reproductive hormones that is related to when it comes to PCOS, high androgen hormones. And rogens are usually seen as the male hormones although both sexes do have them. And in PCOS the testosterone course will tend to go higher than other hormones such as estrogen, progester one, follicle stimulating hormone. The more female hormones that help with ovulation and egg health. So
00:03:23 hormone. The more female hormones that help with ovulation and egg health. So that is what happens when you have PCOS. And just to describe exactly what happens, so if you look in the diagram here, enlarged ovaries containing multiple cysts is what polycystic ovary syndrome actually is. And what the cysts are are follicles that are under developed.
00:03:54 So in women's ovaries we have follicles and they basically sacs that help to So in women's ovaries we have follicles and they basically sacs that help to develop and mature the eggs and then the egg is released during ovulation and then all going well if you are trying for a baby, that egg and sperm will come together and you will become pregnant. However with polycystic ovary syndrome for some reason we don't know what
00:04:20 causes it but these follicles are underdeveloped and therefore the egg is underdeveloped and doesn't mature and doesn't release. So there is no ovulation and therefore women can go for and doesn't release. So there is no ovulation and therefore women can go for very long periods of time without having any menstrual bleeding so they won't have a period. Sometimes it
00:04:37 can be a few months. I've seen cases where I can be years where a woman will not have a period. So that is essentially what PCOS is and what's going on in the body when you've been diagnosed with it. So how does PCOS affect fertility? Well number one as I 've already discussed irregular ovulation because you are often not ovulating, no egg is
