How does PCOS affect fertility

If you have been diagnosed with PCOS you might be wondering how PCOS affects your fertility. Around 70% of people who are diagnosed with PCOS will experience infertility. PCOS is the most common cause of anovulatory infertility but with the right nutrition & lifestyle changes & in some cases medical support, you can get pregnant with PCOS!

In this blog post I will be stepping you through some of the ways that PCOS can impact on your fertility.

Ovulation
PCOS is the most common cause of anovulatory infertility. Due to the hormonal imbalances that occur with PCOS, women who have been diagnosed with this condition can experience anovulation or not ovulating regularly. 75%-95% of women with PCOS are thought to have some degree of insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose into your cells so that your body can use that glucose for energy. When you have insulin resistance, insulin doesn’t work effectively leading to build up of insulin in your bloodstream.. When you have too much insulin in your blood, this can affect the reproductive hormones that control ovulation & your menstrual cycle.
Read my previous blog post ‘Does insulin resistance cause infertility here’
Specific nutrition & lifestyle changes are one of the most effective ways to manage insulin resistance which can help your body to start ovulating more regularly.
Weight
People with PCOS are more likely to struggle with their weight. This is likely due to the high prevalence of insulin resistance & elevated male hormones such as testosterone which promote fat storage, making it more easy to gain weight & much more difficult to lose it.
Clinical PCOS guidelines recommend that weight loss of 5-10% of your total body weight (if you’re in a higher body weight BMI category) can enhance fertility by promoting more regular ovulation & thus provide you with more chances of falling pregnant.
Getting guided support if you need to manage your weight is important. Losing weight too quickly may negatively impact on your fertility, ovulation & diet quality.

It’s important to recognise weight loss is not the only way to improve your fertility with PCOS. Focusing on diet quality & adopting an anti-inflammatory low GI dietary pattern can almost triple your chances of falling pregnant. For people with PCOS, following these dietary patterns can also significantly improve your chances of ovulating more regularly and can reduce the risk of miscarriage and developing gestational diabetes. Knowing how to make these dietary patterns work for your individual taste preferences & lifestyle is essential so that you can continue this dietary pattern in the long term

3. Implantation

Emerging research shows that people who have been diagnosed with PCOS who are undergoing IVF treatment are twice as likely to have a non-receptive endometrial lining compared to those who don’t have PCOS. It is thought unmanaged insulin resistance may impact on endometrial receptivity & thus successful implantation.
If you’re looking for specific strategies to optimise implantation see our Nourishing Implantation E-Guide which takes you through the exact nutrition & lifestyle strategies that have been shown in research to support implantation.
4. Miscarriage
Unfortunately women with PCOS are more likely to suffer from early pregnancy losses or miscarriage compared to those without PCOS. Whilst most miscarriages are due to chromosomal abnormalities and can not be prevented, insulin resistance is an independent risk factor for miscarriage and is modifiable. This means that treating your insulin resistance can help you to reduce your risk of having a miscarriage along with other pregnancy complications.
5.NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES
Women with PCOS are more likely to experience certain nutrient deficiencies such as Vitamin D, Zinc, Calcium & Folic acid which can all impact on fertility