How does PCOS affect fertility?

Answer 1

The ovaries have tiny fluid-filled sacs called follicles or cysts. When the egg grows inside the ovaries, fluid in the follicle increases. Upon maturation of the egg, the follicle breaks open and the egg is released. This egg travels through the fallopian tube to the uterus (womb) for fertilization. This is called ovulation.
However, in women with PCOS, the ovary does not make all hormones that are needed for an egg to fully mature. The follicles start growing and building up fluid but ovulation does not occur. As ovulation does not occur, the hormone progesterone is not produced. Instead, the ovaries produce androgens that prevent ovulation. As a result, some follicles may remain as cysts.

Answer 2

PCOS or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, is basically a hormone-related medical condition where the entire body of the woman is affected. As a result of this, there are hindrances and obstacles in your fertility rate. Here is how PCOS affects your level of fertility-

Weight gain or obesity

Since there are many different kinds of hormonal changes going on in your body, physical appearance or body weight is likely to get affected too. Changes in the body of a woman, especially obesity leads to excessive fat deposition along the uterine lines. And this in turn reduces your chances of conception.

Hormonal Impacts

Excess androgen is produced in the body if you are suffering from PCOS. In fact, because of this excessive production there is a high chance of irregular or absent ovulation. The upsetting of the ovulation cycle also means irregular period. So on the whole, you are unsure of the right ovulation dates and don’t have your menstrual cycle in an orderly form, which leads to trouble in becoming pregnant.

Increased Health risks

In most cases it has been see that women suffering PCOS are also resistant or don’t react to the action of insulin. As a result, there is also difficultly in maintaining and controlling the levels of blood sugar in the body. Hence, higher levels of insulin need to be given, which again lead to more of androgen production, risk of heart diseases and weight gain too. So this tends to become a vicious cycle.

Emotional Trauma

Along with the physical side effects of PCOS, its emotional negativity cannot be undone. Due to these hormonal and physical changes, a woman tends to get stressed, suffers from anxiety, depression and other related complications. And this emotional turmoil leads to further havoc on the reproductive system - leading to trouble in conceiving.