Do you have irregular or skipped periods? Heavy bleeding? hair growth in unwanted areas? Acne? Headaches? Pelvic pain? Weight gain? difficulty becoming pregnant? 

Well, if you have two or more of these signs, you may have Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) –  a condition that affects a woman’s hormone levels. 

So how does PCOS affect conception and pregnancy and how to treat the condition? 

Many women have PCOS but don’t know it yet. 

Doctors diagnose PCOS if you have at least 2 of 3 main symptoms – high levels of male hormones (androgen), irregular periods, and cysts in the ovaries. 

A pelvic exam, blood tests, and ultrasound can confirm the diagnosis. 

A pelvic exam can look for any problems with your ovaries, uterus, or other parts of your reproductive tract.

Blood tests check for higher-than-normal levels of male hormones, cholesterol, insulin, and triglyceride levels. 

An ultrasound can look for abnormal follicles and other problems with your ovaries and uterus.

How Does PCOS Affect Conception?

During each monthly menstrual cycle several follicles, each of which contains an egg, begin the process of maturing.

However, usually only one of these follicles reaches maturity and releases a mature egg. 

In PCOS, there are many small follicles in the ovary, each one containing an immature egg, and the eggs never mature enough to trigger ovulation. 

The lack of ovulation causes an increase in the levels of androgen and estrogen and a decrease in the levels of progesterone. 

Too much (or too little) of these hormones can make it tricky to get pregnant. 

Your doctor might recommend prescription medications to help balance your hormones.

Hormonal imbalance can therefore affect your periods, fertility, and other aspects of your health, including metabolic issues, sleep apnea, endometrial cancer, and mood swings. 

Women with PCOS also produce too much insulin, or the insulin they produce does not work as it should.

Insulin helps keep the glucose in your blood within a normal range. It does this by taking glucose out of your bloodstream and moving it into cells throughout your body.  

The inability of insulin to function normally is one reason why women with PCOS tend to gain weight or have a hard time losing weight.

Being significantly Overweight can affect fertility by preventing ovulation due to higher-than-normal estrogen levels produced by fat cells.  

How Does PCOS Affect Pregnancy?

Despite the increased risk factors, many women with PCOS can become pregnant. 

However, PCOS increases the risk of pregnancy complications including:

• Miscarriage: PCOS can cause recurrent miscarriages in the first trimester due to factors such as low levels of progesterone, elevated androgen levels, insulin resistance, higher levels of fat tissue (adipose), and endometrial dysfunction, which could affect the lining of your uterus and impair embryo implantation.  

• High blood pressure: PCOS can suddenly cause hypertension after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Severe hypertension can harm your heart, kidneys, and placenta causing your baby to be born prematurely. 

• Preeclampsia: Can occur after the 20th week of pregnancy as a result of hypertension. The only way to cure preeclampsia is to deliver the baby, so you’ll usually be monitored regularly until it’s possible for your baby to be delivered.  

• Premature delivery: PCOS is associated with a greater odds of having preterm birth – before week 37 of pregnancy. Common reasons for PCOS preterm births include premature rupture of the amniotic sac, hypertensive conditions (preeclampsia and gestational diabetes), and unknown causes. 

• Gestational diabetes: When you’re pregnant, your body becomes slightly resistant to insulin, so that more glucose is available in your bloodstream and is passed to your baby. PCOS makes your body much more resistant to insulin, making your blood sugar levels rise abnormally. As a result, your baby can have low blood sugar, trouble breathing, and be very large – resulting in the need for cesarean, or C-section delivery. 

• C-section delivery: Pregnant women with PCOS are more likely to have C-sections because of the pregnancy complications associated with PCOS – mentioned above. 

How to Treat PCOS?

If you have been attempting to become pregnant for a while with no success, you need to change your lifestyle and seek medical help. 

Lose Weight

If you are carrying extra weight, you may improve your fertility and PCOS symptoms by losing 5-10% of your weight. 

Any diet that helps you lose weight can help your condition.

Regular exercises also help bring down PCOS symptoms and improve your health.

Foods to avoid if you have PCOS:

• processed foods that are generally high in sodium and unhealthy fats because they can often get deposited on the ovaries, worsening your condition. 

• milk , cheese, and butter because dairy products can lead to higher levels of insulin. If you have to consume dairy, stick to skimmed milk but limit your intake. 

• Refined flour (found in pasta, cakes, and white breads) because it is high in carbohydrates and low in fibre, which increases your blood sugar level and makes you develop insulin resistance, worsening your condition. 

Foods to eat if you have PCOS:

• Fruits and vegetables because they are high in fibre and healthy fats, which help reduce the amount of insulin produced. 
• Nuts and seeds like pine nuts, almonds, hazelnuts because they are high in healthy fats and proteins. 

• Fish because it is high in protein and fatty acids (such as omega 3), which can help in balancing hormones. 

Take Medical Boosters

In some cases, your doctor might recommend medications to regulate your menstrual cycle, trigger ovulation, improve your insulin levels, and alleviate your symptoms.  

Medications to help you get pregnant with PCOS include:

• Metformin (a diabetes drug) to balance insulin levels
• Clomid (or clomiphene citrate) to help balance estrogen levels and trigger ovulation
• Birth control pills to regulate ovulation before the start of a fertility treatment 

Surgery can be an option to improve fertility if other treatments don’t work.

Ovarian drilling is a procedure that makes tiny holes in the ovary with a laser or thin heated needle to restore normal ovulation.

Sometimes medications alone are not effective for women with PCOS and do not result in ovulation or pregnancy. 

In this case, the patient may receive fertility injections which will help the body release an egg.

If none of the above works for you, don’t lose hope!

Medical research shows that women with PCOS have a high success rate of getting pregnant with IVF treatment because they can produce more eggs!

If you poured yourself a glass of wine, would you pour one for your baby as well? 

It may sound unreasonable, but in effect, that is what you do when you drink during your pregnancy.   

Drinking wine while pregnant might not seem that bad considering the fact that plenty of women have had an occasional glass of wine at some point during their pregnancy, and their kids have turned out just fine.  

But is it really okay to enjoy an occasional glass, or should you stay away from it altogether?

Heavy drinking is more dangerous to your baby than is light drinking.

However, even an occasional glass of any type or amount of alcohol can have harmful effects on a baby’s growth and development.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy has been linked to an increased risk of premature delivery, low birth weight, miscarriage, and stillbirth.

The fetus is most vulnerable during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

During this period of time, all of the major organs and body systems are forming and can be damaged if the fetus is exposed to alcohol.

Regardless of whether it is liquor, beer, or wine, alcohol quickly travels through your bloodstream, crosses the placenta, and enters your baby’s circulatory system. 

How Much Alcohol Is Too Much During Pregnancy?

Even a small glass of wine exposes the baby to alcohol and to negative effects.

The baby breaks down alcohol more slowly than adults, and may actually end up with a higher level of blood alcohol than the mother. 

Drinking as early as 3-4 weeks into pregnancy (before you may even realize you are pregnant) may alter gene functioning in the developing brain of the baby, particularly in the hippocampus.

The hippocampus is the brain region that plays a crucial role in memory and learning.

Consequently, your baby can have problems after they’re born including:

• Attention deficit disorder
• Hyperactivity
• Learning disorders
• Poor memory
• Mood disorders
• Small head size
• Shorter than average height
• Low body weight
• Poor coordination
• Vision or hearing problems
• Heart problems
• kidneys or bones problems

Better Be Safe than Sorry

On another hand, some health professionals might encourage the use of red wine to relieve stress, reduce the incidence of heart disease, and improve the physical health of the developing baby.

However, no research to date has found that alcohol consumption improves the physical health of a developing baby.

Therefore, I highly recommended that pregnant women abstain from all types of alcoholic beverages. 

So next time you pour yourself a glass of wine, remember that the risk is different for each individual woman. 

If you are pregnant, suspect you might be pregnant, or plan to become pregnant, you should stop drinking immediately!

Even a small amount of wine can cause harm to your baby during the earliest stages of development. 

Remember, it’s better to be safe than sorry! 

Is it a boy or a girl? 

You have probably heard many old wives’ tales to predict whether you’re having a boy or a girl.  Things like “you’re carrying a boy because you’re carrying high in your belly” or “ Can’t get enough sweets or fruits? It’s a girl!” 

Learning the sex of your baby can be exciting and can help you prepare for your baby‘s arrival. 

But how accurate are all of those stories about sex prediction? 

This article will reveal how to really determine whether you have a baby girl or a baby boy on the way.

Old Wives’ Tales

Let’s have a look at the most fun and common old wives’ tales:

The Height And Shape Of Your Bump:

If your belly is low and round (ball-like baby bump), you are having a boy.

If your belly is high and wider, you are having a girl. 

However, how you are carrying the baby in the womb has nothing to do with the baby’s sex. 

It is your body type, stomach muscles, and how much weight you gain during the pregnancy that play a role in shaping your belly. 

Your Cravings:

If you have cravings for sour, salty or protein-rich foods (french fries and steak), you are having a boy.

If you have cravings for sugar, sweets, and fruits, you are having a girl. 

However, there is no connection between cravings and baby’s sex. 

The cravings can be related to deficiencies in specific minerals. 

Your Facial Skin:

If your skin is glowing and looks clear, you are having a boy. 

If your skin is oily with lots of spots and acne, you are having a girl. 

The belief is that your baby girl is stealing your beauty. How adorable and depressing at the same time huh? 

In reality, you can only blame the state of your skin on hormones and not on the sex of your baby. 

Your Pee Color:

If your urine has a darker neon-like color, you are having a boy.

If your urine has a lighter yellow and is cloudy, you are having a girl. 

However, the color of your pee at this point can only tell you whether or not you need to drink to hydrate. 

Your Mood:

If your mood is stable, you are having a boy.

If you are having intense mood swings, you are having a girl. 

Who are we kidding? Pregnancy mood swings are pretty normal no matter your baby’s sex.

Your Wedding Ring Test:

Take your wedding ring and attach it to a thread and have someone hold the dangling ring over your belly. 

If the ring moves back and forth like a pendulum, you are having a boy.

If the ring swings in a circular motion, you are having a girl. 

The key test:

Have someone place a single key on a table in front of you. 

If you grab for the key at its narrow part, you are having a boy.

If you grab for the key at its top round part, you are having a girl. 

What if you grab the key in the middle? (haha)

The Chinese Calendar:

Use the chinese gender chart to predict the baby’s gender based on your age and the month your baby was conceived. 

However, there’s not much information out there about whether the chart actually works, or how accurate it is. 

If it was accurate, then wouldn’t we all baby dance every time in a specific month to conceive a specific gender according to the chart?  

The Heart Rate Of Your Baby: 

If the baby’s heart rate is less than 140 beats per minute, you are having a boy.

if the baby’s heart rate is more than 140 beats per minute, you are having a girl. 

The heart rate of a baby girl is usually faster than that of a baby boy. 

However, this is only true after labor begins. 

Before that, it’s the age of a fetus that really affects heart rate speed.

Medical Methods

Only a doctor can reliably determine the sex of a baby. Here’s what you need to know about methods used to determine a baby’s sex:

Ultrasound:

An ultrasound creates an image of your baby to check your baby’s development and health. 

Since an ultrasound creates an image of your baby, it can also reveal the sex of your baby as early as 14 weeks of pregnancy. 

If you see a penis (a turtle), you are having a boy.

If you can’t find a penis (three lines), you are having a girl.

However, your baby might be in an awkward position, which makes it difficult to clearly see the genitals and can lead to mistakes.

Genetic Blood Test:

The lab checks your blood sample for fetal DNA linked to chromosome disorders at 10 weeks of pregnancy. It can also determine the presence of the male Y chromosome.

If you have the Y chromosome in your blood, you are having a boy.

If you don’t have the Y chromosome in your blood, you are having a girl. 

At-Home screening kits: 

At-home screening kits like the Pink or blue early DNA Pregnancy Test claim to identify the sex of your baby at 7 weeks of pregnancy. The test looks for the presence of male DNA (the Y chromosome) in your blood. 

If you have the Y chromosome in your blood, you are having a boy.

If you don’t have the Y chromosome in your blood, you are having a girl. 

Take a sample of your blood through a finger prick, then send the sample to a lab. 

Make sure no man is near you when taking the test because a simple cough from a man could get male DNA in the air and contaminate the sample.

Amniocentesis

If your ultrasound detects an abnormality in the baby’s development, your doctor may recommend amniocentesis to test for specific genetic conditions like Down syndrome. 

It involves inserting a needle through your abdomen to collect a small amount of amniotic fluid (the fluid surrounding the baby) to reveal chromosomal anomalies and gender.

In-Vitro Fertilization With Sex Selection 

When undergoing IVF, sperm is injected into the retrieved eggs to form embryos. 

Then there’s an option to choose the sex of your baby through a procedure called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD).

PGD is normally used to detect genetic abnormalities in an embryo before transferring it to the mother’s uterus. It can also detect which embryos are XX or XY.

Embryos that are XX are girls.

Embryos that are XY are boys. 

Therefore, you can choose to only transfer the embryos of your desired sex. 

Read our article on The Pros and Cons Of Telling People You Are Doing IVF.

While old wives’ tales are a fun way to predict the sex of a baby, there isn’t any science or research to back up these myths. The only way to know for sure what you’re expecting is to schedule an appointment with your doctor.

If you or your partner comes from a family that has a set of twins, you may be wondering what the odds are of you giving birth to twins.

We may not fully understand why twin pregnancies sometimes occur, but certain factors can increase your chances of having twins. 

This article explains the difference between identical and fraternal twins and reveals some factors contributing to twinning. 

Two Types Of twins:

Identical twins

Identical twins come from a single egg fertilized by a single sperm. It then divides into two separate embryos very early in the pregnancy. 

Embryo splitting seems to happen randomly by chance, so genes do not have anything to do with it. 

As a result, identical twins do not run in the family as genes are not involved in the process [1].  

Both embryos share the same DNA, meaning they have identical genes and look very much alike. 

They will always be the same sex, either both boys or both girls. 

Fraternal Twins (non-identical)

Fraternal twins happen when two different eggs are released and fertilized, each by a single sperm. 

Specific genes predispose some women to hyper to ovulate more than one egg simultaneously, which increases the chance of having twins. 

As a result, fraternal twins run in the family because genes are involved in the process. 

Both embryos do not share the same DNA and may or may not look alike. They will look like regular siblings born years apart. 

Fraternal twins will not necessarily be of the same sex. They can be two boys, two girls, or a boy and a girl.  

Factors Contributing to Twinning

Twins on the father’s side of the family will not influence your chances of having twins. 

After all, mom releases two eggs due to hyperovulation.

Men, of course, do not ovulate. So their DNA will not influence how many eggs the mom releases!

The tendency to have twins is influenced by several factors related to women, as explained below: 

Hyperovulation

Some inherited genes predispose women to hyperovulation.

However, those genes are unknown and require further research to uncover them.

Women with these genes seem to have higher levels of certain hormones related to ovulation.

For example, the hormone FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) may be higher in mothers of twins.

So if you are a woman who carries the hyperovulation gene, you may be more likely to have twins.

Men do not ovulate, so even if they have inherited that hyperovulation gene from their parents, it does not increase their odds of conceiving twins even if they have multiples in their family.

However, they may pass this gene on to their daughter, who is more likely to release two or more eggs during ovulation and therefore could conceive fraternal twins.

From here comes the theory that twins can skip a generation.

Fertility Treatments

Fertility treatments such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI), and ovulation induction (OI), can increase your chances of having twins.

Some fertility drugs that are part of the whole treatment work by stimulating your ovaries, causing them to release more than one egg to increase the odds of conception.

During IVF, we extract and fertilize multiple eggs, and we transfer more than one embryo to increase the likelihood of success.

Twins can therefore develop if both embryos implant successfully.

Read this article to check if IUI is right for you.

Age

Older women generally have a higher chance of conceiving twins.

A 35-year-old woman is about four times more likely to have fraternal twins than a woman under 20.

The rising FSH hormone concentrations (as they near menopause) cause more ovarian follicles to mature and release extra eggs during ovulation.

After age 35, however, the chance of having twins naturally decreases.

Height

Taller women are slightly more likely to have twins.

If you are taller than average (at least 5’5” or 165 cm height), you are about two times more likely to have twins than shorter women.

The reasons for this are not clear, but researchers think it may be due to having a higher quantity of a specific protein.

The protein makes the ovaries more sensitive to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).

Weight

Women who are overweight also seem to have a higher chance of conceiving twins.

If you have a BMI (body mass index) of 30 or more, you are more likely to have twins.

Probably due to better nutrition, more resources available for a developing fetus, and higher levels of FSH.

Nutrition

Diet can also have an impact on your chance of having twins.

Animal products, particularly dairy, enhance the odds of conceiving twins.

Probably due to more growth hormone, which may stimulate multiple ovulations.

The use of oral contraceptives and increased intake of folic acid may also contribute to twinning.

However, at this point, the results of these studies are inconclusive.

More research is needed to determine the role of these factors in twinning.

Recap:

There is still a lot that is unknown about what causes a couple to have twins.

It is the genes of the mother that control the likelihood of having fraternal twins.

Identical twins do not run in families – they are random.

So if you are a fraternal twin, you are more likely to have twins.

However, if you are an identical twin, your chances to have twins are the same as the general population.