PCOS Awareness Month 2022: Here's how PCOS patients can boost fertility

Prevalence of PCOS has been reported as nearly 40% among women with infertility while on the other hand, prevalence of infertility/subfertility has been reported as high as 72% in women with PCOS. How can PCOS patients boost fertility? Know from health experts

September is marked as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Awareness Month as PCOS is the most common endocrinological disorder affecting reproductive age group women and affects one out of every five women where it can have a negative effect on a woman’s menstrual cycle thus affecting her fertility. Prevalence of PCOS has been reported as nearly 40% among women with infertility while on the other hand, prevalence of infertility/subfertility has been reported as high as 72% in women with PCOS.

PCOS Awareness Month 2022: Here's how PCOS patients can boost fertility(Twitter/Spiomet4Health)

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Shilpi Sachdev, MBBS, DNB, DMAS, Consultant Obstetrics and Gynecology, Apollo Cradle and Children’s Hospital in New Delhi's Moti Nagar, revealed, “The first line of treatment for PCOS and the most sought after way to improve the chances of conceiving is by bringing significant changes in one’s lifestyle. Maintaining a healthy diet that helps to keep your weight and ovulatory cycle in check, improves the chances of pregnancy. Eating a diet focused on high-fiber vegetables, lean protein and anti-inflammatory foods and spices can help in dealing with infertility. Another important aspect is regular exercising. Working out for at least 30 minutes a day with a good diet can improve chances of fertility. There are also certain types of medications that help improve fertility in women with PCOS if natural remedies don't work.”

Dr Mansi Verma, Gynaecologist at Veera Health, shared, “The 2 basic mechanisms that cause subfertility is absence of ovulation and damage to the endometrial lining. Lifestyle modification including smoking and alcohol cessation, sleeping well, eating balanced diet, correction of the metabolic disturbance and reducing insulin resistance by weight loss (5 - 10% of body weight) , exercise (at least moderate physical activity of duration 150 min/ week) and dietary changes forms the first line of management in infertility treatment.”

She suggested, “Improving ovarian health and function is important by including antioxidants in diet and adding nutraceuticals like inositol (member of B complex family of vitamins). Inositol is not an essential vitamin, as it can be manufactured by the body, but it tends to be deficient in women with PCOS. It is present in cereals with high bran content, nuts, beans, and fruit, especially cantaloupe, melons and oranges. Yoga, meditation and doing mind relaxing exercises helps a lot to bring down the stress, thus increasing chances of conception. Ovulation inducing agents and sometimes metformin can also be used by fertility specialists to increase chances of ovulation. The last resort is to use surgical techniques like ovarian drilling and assisted reproductive technology to achieve conception in people with severe form of PCOS.”