Polycystic ovary syndrome is now recognized as a heterogeneous syndrome. The syndrome was originally reported by Stein and Leventhal in 1935 when they described a group of women with amenorrhea, infertility, hirsutism (unwanted hair growth in women), and enlarged polycystic ovaries. Women with PCOS frequently have a mother or sister with PCOS. But there is not yet enough evidence to say there is a genetic link to this disorder. Many women with PCOS have a weight problem. If PCOS is not treated properly, it can put a girl at risk for lots of problems, such as infertility, excessive hair growth, acne, diabetes, heart disease, abnormal bleeding from the uterus, and cancer. Polycystic ovaries are enlarged bilaterally and have a smooth thickened capsule that is avascular. On cut sections, subcapsular follicles in various stages of atresia are seen in the peripheral part of the ovary.

Causes of Polycystic ovary syndrome

The common causes and risk factor’s of Polycystic ovary syndrome include the following:

No one knows the exact cause of this syndrom.

An imbalance in the hormones (chemical messengers) in your brain and your ovaries.

Excess fat.

Family history of Polycystic ovary syndrome.

Genetics may be a factor.

Symptoms of Polycystic ovary syndrome

Some sign and symptoms related to Polycystic ovary syndrome are as follows:

Pelvic pain,

Irregular periods.

Male-pattern baldness or thinning hair.

Weight gain, even obesity.

Insulin resistance and diabetes.

Patches of dark skin on the back of your neck and other areas, called “acanthosis nigricans”.

Decreased breast size.

High blood sugar (hyperglycemia).

Treatment of Polycystic ovary syndrome

Here is list of the methods for treating Polycystic ovary syndrome:

Weight reduction is associated with normalization of hormonal disturbances and the resumption of regular ovulation. It also has a beneficial impact on the consequences of PCOS (eg, cardiovascular diseases, impaired glucose tolerance, hypertension, dyslipidemia).

For women who don’t want to become pregnant, birth control pills can regulate menstrual cycles, reduce male hormone levels, and help to clear acne.

Cosmetic treatment of facial hirsutism with electroepilation and laser hair removal has also been studied and found to be beneficial.

Reproductive Medicine.

Hormone treatment to suppress ovarian activity is a reasonable choice if the patient does not want to conceive now, and is having problems with excessive hair growth.

Metformin can be taken with fertility medications and helps to make PCOS women ovulate on lower doses of medication.

If medications don’t help you become pregnant, your doctor may recommend an outpatient surgery called laparoscopic ovarian drilling.

• high levels of male hormones, also called androgens

• an irregular or no menstrual cycle

• may or may not have many small cysts in their ovaries. Cysts are fluid-filled sacs.

PCOS is the most common hormonal reproductive problem in women of childbearing age.

What are the symptoms of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)?

These are some of the symptoms of PCOS listed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services:

• infrequent menstrual periods, no menstrual periods, and/or irregular bleeding

• infertility or inability to get pregnant because of not ovulating

• increased growth of hair on the face, chest, stomach, back, thumbs, or toes

• acne, oily skin, or dandruff

• pelvic pain

• weight gain or obesity, usually carrying extra weight around the waist

• type 2 diabetes

• high cholesterol

• high blood pressure

• male-pattern baldness or thinning hair

• patches of thickened and dark brown or black skin on the neck, arms, breasts, or thighs

• skin tags, or tiny excess flaps of skin in the armpits or neck area

• sleep apnea – excessive snoring and breathing stops at times while asleep

How is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) treated?

Because there is no cure for PCOS, it needs to be managed to prevent problems. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, treatments are based on the symptoms each patient is having and whether she wants to conceive or needs contraception. Below are descriptions of treatments used for PCOS.

• Birth control pills. For women who don’t want to become pregnant, birth control pills can regulate menstrual cycles, reduce male hormone levels, and help to clear acne. However, the birth control pill does not cure PCOS. The menstrual cycle will become abnormal again if the pill is stopped. Women may also think about taking a pill that only has progesterone, like Provera, to regulate the menstrual cycle and prevent endometrial problems. But according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, progesterone alone does not help reduce acne and hair growth.

• Diabetes Medications. The medicine, Metformin, also called Glucophage, which is used to treat type 2 diabetes, also helps with PCOS symptoms. Metformin affects the way insulin regulates glucose and decreases the testosterone production. Abnormal hair growth will slow down and ovulation may return after a few months of use. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, these medications will not cause a person to become diabetic.

• Fertility Medications. The main fertility problem for women with PCOS is the lack of ovulation. Even so, your sperm count should be checked and your spouse’s tubes checked to make sure they are open before fertility medications are used. Clomiphene (pills) and Gonadotropins (shots) can be used to stimulate the ovary to ovulate. PCOS patients are at increased risk for multiple births when using these medications. In vitro Fertilization (IVF) is sometimes recommended to control the chance of having triplets or more. Metformin can be taken with fertility medications and helps to make PCOS women ovulate on lower doses of medication.

• Medicine for increased hair growth or extra male hormones. If a woman is not trying to get pregnant, some other medicines may reduce hair growth. Spironolactone is a blood pressure medicine that has been shown to decrease the male hormone’s effect on hair. Propecia, a medicine taken by men for hair loss, is another medication that blocks this effect. Both of these medicines can affect the development of a male fetus and should not be taken if pregnancy is possible. Other non-medical treatments such as electrolysis or laser hair removal are effective at getting rid of hair. A woman with PCOS can also take hormonal treatment to keep new hair from growing.

• Surgery. Although it is not recommended as the first course of treatment, surgery called ovarian drilling is available to induce ovulation. The doctor makes a very small incision above or below the navel, and inserts a small instrument that acts like a telescope into the abdomen. This is called laparoscopy. The doctor then punctures the ovary with a small needle carrying an electric current to destroy a small portion of the ovary. This procedure carries a risk of developing scar tissue on the ovary. This surgery can lower male hormone levels and help with ovulation. But these effects may only last a few months. This treatment doesn’t help with increased hair growth and loss of scalp hair.

• A healthy weight. Maintaining a healthy weight is another way women can help manage PCOS. Since obesity is common with PCOS, a healthy diet and physical activity help maintain a healthy weight, which will help the body lower glucose levels, use insulin more efficiently, and may help restore a normal period. Even loss of 10% of her body weight can help make a woman’s cycle more regular.

Being pregnant is one of the most significant phases in a woman’s life. The idea of bringing a new life on this earth is exhilarating ; it makes the lady feel on top of the planet. Many new changes including plenty of emotional changes happen in the body. If it is the first pregnancy, then the excitement is sort of plain. Early Signs of Pregnancy – Pregnancy Symptoms

Pregnancy span is taken from the day of conception till the date of delivery. The average menstrual cycle is taken of 28 days. Ovulation often happens 14 days before the following menstrual cycle.

Some early signs of pregnancy :

“Light spotting : before the date of menstrual cycle, light spotting may happen. This spotting is principally pink or brown in color which is quite different from normal menstrual bleeding.

“Missed period : One of the leading indication of pregnancy is a missed menstrual cycle. But in a woman having standard menstrual cycle and missing period is the first sign of pregnancy.

“Frequent pissing : As there are changes in the ‘Human Chorionic Gonadotropin ( HCG ), hormone in the body due to the embryo implantation, the girls experience frequent urination. This symptom can appear even before the missed period.

The nipples become tenderer and this is going to be one of the pregnancy signs.

Commonly called morning illness, nausea can happen anytime except often during the first trimester.

This is again an early pregnancy symptom in several women.

“

This cause dizziness and the pregnant girls can faint.

All these pregnancy symptoms may not be present in everyone but the majority of the women have some or other of these as their early signs of pregnancy. When you find that you have become pregnant, you’ll be able to find your due date thru pregnancy calculator at pregnancyrx.com.

What is actually infertility?

An infertility problem is defined clinically as the inability to have babies or carry a child to full term during the pregnancy period. If you have had a year of unprotected sexual intercourse or are over 35 years of age and can’t conceive, you may have this problem.

There are many women that after been diagnose of having infertility problem by their medical doctors, could not accept the fact as explained by their doctors. It is not the end of their planned chapter on parenthood; it was just the beginning of a different chapter.

Doctors will take a look at their medical and family history to uncover other symptoms of infertility. Symptoms found are:

1) Having irregular menstrual cycle. It is less likely for women to have a perfect 28 day cycle and there are many having their period only once a couple of months. Any cycle less than 24 days or more than 35 days is considered irregular and can lead to a meeting with a reproductive endocrinologist. By knowing this before hand, you can treat infertility problem

2) Are you having not constant ovulation?

There many women out there assumes that if they are have period regularly, they must be ovulating. In fact, not all women ovulate every cycle.

Since there is usually a 24 hour window where she is most fertile, calculating when she ovulates is crucial to eliminate female infertility. This method is one of the oldest method to curb this problem.

3) What about your family history?

You need to know if your mom had trouble conceiving you and your other family members having problem conceiving babies. This will give you an indication on how answer screening questions.

4) Does age also play a part in female infertility?

Women above the age of 35 may not automatically be infertile, in fact 40 something women also could get pregnant. The reason may due to the number of eggs a woman produces each cycle diminishes in her mid-thirties.

Therefore the chances of getting pregnant become less in comparison to someone in their early twenties with all other factors being constant. After knowing this, you should take having early medical checkup to undercover the symptoms before planning a baby.

5) Are you stress out?

There are lots of medical research that stress is one of the symptoms that causes female infertility. Stress management by controlling your emotional and mental pressures may able to prevent infertility issues.

Fear not medical science is so advanced and there lots of miracle babies being born everyday.

Once you are aware of the symptoms of infertility, and take some measures to prevent it, and at the same time having the faith of having a baby will overcome any fears of infertility.

Therefore, Eddy has started a information guide on how to help people to deal with infertility and offer good how to get pregnant solutions.

Ovulation is the process in which the female egg is released from the ovary. Once every month, the ovary of the mature female produces 10-20 eggs. Of these, one egg is released into the uterus through the fallopian tube. This mature egg stays alive only for a short period of 24 hours. During this time, if the egg is fertilized by the sperm, conception occurs. In rare cases, more than one egg is released by the ovary and these get fertilized. This is what produces fraternal twins. The stimulation of more than one egg commonly takes place when the woman takes in medications for disorders in the ovary.

Since ovulation is the ideal period of the menstrual cycle when chances of conception are the highest, women who want to get pregnant need to maximize their chances of ovulation. To do this, it is necessary to know when ovulation takes place. The sperm entering the woman’s body can survive for four to five days. So a woman’s fertile period starts 4-5 days before ovulation and ends about 30 hours after it. In general terms, ovulation takes place approximately 14 days before the start of the menstrual cycle. The exact date of ovulation varies according to the length of the menstrual cycle in the woman. In a 28-day cycle, ovulation takes place on the 14th day. In a 32 day cycle, ovulation takes place on the 18th day. A more accurate prediction of ovulation is possible through a more scientific method of determining ovulation. Some of the most popular methods of determining ovulation include The Basal Body Temperature (BBT) method, the Sympto-Thermal method and Device method.

There are several ways in which a woman can predict ovulation. Natural methods simply require you to be more aware of your body.

Symptoms of ovulation:

Due to the release of the hormone called progesterone, your basal body temperature rises at the period of ovulation. In order to detect this rise in temperature, it is necessary to take recordings at the same time every morning before you take any food or fluids, and as soon as you are out of bed. Keeping a record for several months will help you detect a pattern in your cycle. Special thermometers call basal thermometers help you to detect this rise in temperature.

Another natural way to predict ovulation is by checking cervical mucus. Cervical mucus is almost nonexistent during the infertile phase, and even the little that it is present is brittle. But as you near the time of your ovulation, cervical mucus becomes thick and begins to resemble egg whites. The volume of secretion increases and this is the best time to conceive.

Checking the position of the cervix is another way of predicting ovulation, though it is more difficult than the other two. At the end of the menstrual cycle, the cervix rests low, feels hard and is closed. The cervix begins to soften as ovulation approaches and reaches a position that is on top of the vagina. During ovulation, the opening of the cervix is wide in order to allow the sperm to enter freely.

Ovulation kits are commercially available and these can be used in the privacy of your home. These are easy to use and quite accurate, though not fool proof.