Fertility Options Coach

Danish girls are entering puberty a year earlier than they did just 15 years ago. US studies have found similar results, but were not as carefully controlled as this new study. Researchers studied 1,000 young Danish girls in 1991-1993 and another 1,000 young girls in 2006-2008. They used the same methods to find subjects and measure development. They found that girls today are beginning to develop breasts a full year earlier than they did in the 1991-1993 group.

In the earlier group, breast development began at an average of 10.9 years of age. The more recent group began developing breasts at an average of 9.9 years. While other markers of development such as onset of menses and pubic hair was also found to be earlier, the difference was less drastic with an average difference of 0.2-0.3 years earlier development. Researchers found that breast development was early even when they took looked at weight as a factor.

Early puberty can lead to more risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, polycystic ovarian syndrome and risky social behavior. PCOS is a leading cause of infertility. Girls who develop physically younger may not be ready to handle the increased social pressure to experiment sexually and therefore may engage in more risky behavior at a younger age. This is an example of one more reason we need to work to protect young girls from the social pressures of body image and too-early sexual pressure.

Environmental toxins from Bisphenol A (BPA) in baby bottles and other plastics to pesticides have all been tied to hormone disorders and early onset of puberty. Many different chemicals can act like hormones in the body or may disrupt normal hormone processes.

You can read more about this study here:

Puberty Study Article

An excellent book on helping young girls to help with the pressures our society puts on them is Reviving Ophelia. I highly recommend reading the book if you are a parent or loved one of a young girl.

Many women have cystic ovaries and are fertile. Others have no cysts and they still don’t ovulate. For many women being told that they have cystic ovaries comes as a shock and leads to a fear of infertility. In some cases this fear is well founded – cystic ovaries are one sign of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) a serious health problem that can cause infertility. However, for other women cystic ovaries do not appear to change their fertility.

A study at Tufts University shows that even if an ultrasound reveals that you have polycystic ovaries, you may be as fertile as other women. Even if you have PCOS this study suggests that if you can reduce your symptoms of polycystic ovarian syndrome, you may become more fertile in spite of having polycystic ovaries. (Hassan, M et al, Fertility and Sterility, 2003, 80(4):966-975).

Researchers used ultrasound to identify 210 women as having polycystic ovaries. One-third of these women had none of the typical symptoms of PCOS. The non-symptomatic women took no longer to get pregnant than women with normal ovaries. In other words, the asymptomatic polycystic women were just as fertile as women with normal ovaries.

Some women seem to have cysts on their ovaries with no other symptoms. Those who have other symptoms may find that if they can improve their overall health they can improve their fertility, whether or not their ovarian cysts disappear. Women with PCOS often find that if their health improves and their hormones become balanced their ovarian cysts go away on their own.

The typical cysts found in polycystic ovaries are small and while they may cause some minor pain or tenderness, they are not usually a serious health problem. Most cysts are actually fluid filled and often disappear on their own. Some ovarian cysts are filled with tissue and are called dermoid cysts.

Large cysts can be removed, if necessary, through surgery or in some cases by having the fluid removed with a syringe in laporoscopic surgery. Talk to your doctor about the risks of surgery and whether it is possible to wait a few months to see if the cysts resolve on their own. In rare cases ovarian cysts can be cancerous. In that case it is vital to have treatment as soon as possible to prevent it from spreading.

If you have larger cysts, constant or sharp pain, or your doctor recommends further treatment it is wise to have the cysts treated. Large ovarian cysts can rupture causing internal bleeding or may cause they ovary to twist and lead to severe pain or even loss of the ovary.

Infertility is very, very stressful. Writing in a journal can help lower your stress level and help you improve your chances of success with fertility treatments. Journaling is an extremely effective method for lowering anxiety and encouraging healing. Keeping a journal helps you to develop a dialogue with yourself. Writing regularly can help reduce anxiety and depression, and may lead to insights on how to heal your body.

“After I started keeping a journal, I noticed that my symptoms were worse when I was sleep-deprived,” Andrea said. “I guess I just didn’t make the connection until I saw how often I wrote that I was overtired and that my blood sugar levels were much more out of whack than usual.”

James Pennebaker, Ph.D., a research psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin, has conducted numerous studies on the physical benefits of journal writing. His 1997 book Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotion, details numerous studies showing that people who write about traumatic experiences feel better emotionally and physically. He found that after writing about difficult emotions study participants had stronger immune function and fewer doctor visits than those who only wrote about their everyday lives.

A groundbreaking 1999 study detailed the effect of writing about stressful events for the chronically ill. Researchers at the State University of New York at Stony Brook asked 112 patients with asthma or rheumatoid arthritis to write 20 minutes a day for three days. Some were told to write about the most stressful event of their lives; others were asked to write about their plans for the day.

After four months, asthma patients who wrote about stressful events showed a 19 percent improvement in lung function, and rheumatoid arthritis sufferers had a 28 percent improvement in overall symptoms. There was no change in those who had only written about daily plans. (Journ. Amer. Med. Assoc., April 1999, 281:14)

Emptying your brain on paper can also help with stress relief and improve sleep problems. Kathleen Adams, founder/director of the Center for Journal Therapy and author of Journal to the Self and The Way of the Journal, refers to this as containment. “Use your journal book literally as a container,” she advises. “…When you write, you are moving thoughts, feelings and energy out of your mind and body and into a neutral, receptive place where they will be stored safely for you.” Even this seemingly simple act can do wonders for your stress and anxiety levels.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) sounds pretty scary. At least once a week I hear from a young woman who has just been diagnosed with PCOS. Far too often her doctor has said something like this, “You will not be able to get pregnant without help, if at all. You may get cancer, heart disease or diabetes. Lose weight, take metformin, come back when you want to get pregnant.” These women are terrified and often very depressed about their future. Yes, PCOS is a serious diagnosis, but it is not as bad as these doctors make it seem.

Most women with PCOS do have children if they want them. Yes, it is often more difficult to conceive with PCOS, but most women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome are able to have children even if some of them need medical help to do it.

Polycystic ovary syndrome raises your risk of diabetes, certain cancers and heart disease. What the doctors leave out is that there are ways to significantly reduce your risk. PCOS is a wake-up call to take care of your body. It is a reminder that you can’t take your health for granted. It is no where near the doom and gloom prognosis that many women are given.

Treating PCOS is not easy. I don’t like having to pay attention to my diet and exercise. I would prefer to keep flying by the seat of my pants through life. Slowiing down and taking care of myself are worth it and the same things I have to do to care for my PCOS symptoms are the same things experts are now receommending we all do to take care of ourselves. Eat right, sleep right, exercise, relax….

I have been struggling with PCOS since puberty. More than 20 years later I am still going strong. I do have to be careful to take care of myself a little more than average. I am still working on having a baby. But my life is full and I am able to control the worst PCOS symptoms by taking good care of myself.

Living with PCOS is not always easy. It is far easier than living with many, many other conditions. In many ways I feel lucky to have PCOS instead of some of the illnesses I see other people struggling with.

When you learn you have PCOS it can throw you for a loop. Pick yourself up, learn more about it, learn how to take care of your body.

Most PCOS symptoms can be reduced or eliminated with good self care. Take the time to listen to your body and take care of yourself and you will reap the rewards. PCOS is a wake-up call – not a tragedy.

A small, but important, new study shows that women with PCOS do have babies at almost the same rate as women without PCOS. The difference is that for many women with PCOS, they begin to ovulate regularly a bit later in life as their hormones settle out a bit. For women without PCOS, ovulation slows down as they move into their 30′s. For women with PCOS, as ovulation slows down, it allows for better ovulation and fewer cysts.

The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, looked at the reproductive history of 91 women diagnosed with PCOS and 87 non-PCOS controls, all study participants were 35 or older. Participants in the study were asked about the number and timing of babies and results from women with PCOS and without PCOS were compared. Among women who had attempted to have children, 86.7% of PCOS patients and 91.6% of controls had given birth to at least one child. Among women with PCOS who had given birth, 73.6% had gotten pregnant on their own, without medical intervention.

As I have noted in other articles, women who have babies without help are rarely diagnosed with PCOS, even if they have all of the other symptoms. PCOS makes it harder to have a baby, but it does not rule it out.

While this study is pretty small, it fits with the answers I have gotten in surveys and anecdotal evidence from the many women who have shared their stories with me. Most women w

For many years now I have suspected a trend towards women with PCOS getting pregnant on their own a bit later in life. Over and over, women tell me that they tried for years, then were able to have babies without help.

You can read about the study in New Scientist magazine and I have also included a link directly to the study.

New Scientist Article

Link to Study

Now, we know that for women who ovulate normally, fertility decreases over time. Apparently, for women with PCOS there is an increase in fertility before it decreases again.

My advice (after waiting until my late 30′s for that first baby to finally maker her appearance)? If you are ready to have a baby, try for one. If it doesn’t happen right away and you are in your early to mid 20′s, find something wonderful to do with your time while you wait. You’ll cherish the things you accomplished during that time long after the babies do finally make their appearance.