PCOS Pregnancy Tips!

[Amtheyest17]

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone has any tips for managing PCOS during pregnancy? I know that you’re far more likely to miscarry and want to do as much as I can so this doesn’t happen (even though I know it might be inevitable) Spoken to my DR and she was useless and said it’s no different to any other pregnancy which isn’t technically true as the risk for MC & complications is double.

There’s loads of info on the internet about how to get pregnant, but barely anything to support on how to stay pregnant!

Thanks in advance :)

Try and focus on keeping your blood sugar stable. Look into low GI foods and diabetics diet. Don't know how much that relates to miscarriage risk but pcos defo messes with your insulin resistance.

I have pcos and currently coming to the end of my first trimester and had no idea pcos increases your chance of miscarriage, and I'm a prolific googler! It was never mentioned to me by the fertility consultant or any of the midwives since Ive been pregnant.

Is that proven or just anecdotal evidence?

The midwife told me that it is harder to get pregnant with PCOS, but once you are pregnant it doesn't interfere with pregnancy

This may sound strange but what made me feel better was checking the website which gives you statistics for the likelihood of miscarriage on every day of your pregnancy. It goes down every day and the percentage of staying pregnant gets higher.

As a pp has mentioned, I found statements about how PCOS raises the risk of miscarriage (by x3 in some sources) but couldn't actually find any conclusive research/evidence which proved that.

I find it strange that women are often told by medical professionals that there is no increased risk of mc with pcos, when the nhs website lists it as one of the reasons for mc.

I have pcos and I take myo inositol and metformin to regulate my blood sugar. I am 27 weeks and all good so far. I also try to eat healthy but I must admit I’ve fallen off the wagon a bit when it comes to sugar.

There are numerous studies which say metformin reduces mc rates in women with pcos, but if you can’t get hold of that I would suggest myo inositol which I buy from Zita West.

@Brunilde this was what I was thinking, I deffo have some degree of insulin resistance so keeping sugar low seems key! Thanks :)

@wanderedlonelyasacloud congrats on being towards the end of your first trimester! :) I think it deffo depends on the type of PCOS you have to the risks! I think high androgens and the insulin resistance can cause a problem in maintaining a pregnancy. As someone has mentioned it is on the NHS website - I’ve done a lot of research using nutritionists who specialise and they seem to find it very frustrating that Drs dismiss the risks - especially as precautions can be taken like metformin or progesterone etc depending on what the specific issue is! Saying that I’m gonna flip it and hope that maybe as there isn’t much solid research then maybe it’s unfounded? Makes me feel better anyway as I am so worried!!

@Waitwhat23 which website is this? I sense a new daily obsession 😂…. it’s so frustrating there’s not more out there! Maybe I’m worrying about nothing? As mentioned above I’ve gone down the nutritionist route to manage my pcos and get pregnant and there’s constantly a lot of chatter on how the medical community don’t take PCOS seriously.

@Cafeaulait27 exactly that!! It makes no sense - I’m quite interested in Myo inositol but don’t want to start taking anything that I don’t need just in case and ofc my drs won’t test me for anything as according to them no reason why I shouldn’t have a normal pregnancy!

Maybe I’m just worrying over nothing and being over cautious but I’m so on edge - no idea how I’ll get through the next few weeks!!

I have PCOS and got pregnant for the first time on Clomid via private referral. I was 32. I asked the doctor about the miscarriage thing and PCOS. Her answer was that PCOS does NOT cause increased risk of miscarriage.

It IS true that there is a slightly higher rate of miscarriage in women with PCOS vs the overall general population. But that this is because women with PCOS are often older when they conceive (because of struggles to get pregnant/ wait for fertility treatment etc). Younger women with PCOS are less likely to even know they have PCOS, but fall pregnant naturally simply because quite frankly, they generally have a LOT more sex and therefore have a better chance of catching the window!

So PCOS and miscarriage may be correlated, but there's no causation between them. ie women with PCOS between 30-35 would have v similar rates of miscarriage than women without PCOS in the same age group.

Thank you @TiredButDancing thats made me feel a bit better! Just so difficult as mentioned above I decided to try improving my diet etc to fix my PCOS which I’ve definitely noticed a difference and luckily managed to get pregnant our first month trying (I’m 30) after being on a plan for 3 months… it’s just difficult as amongst nutritionists etc they definitely say that there is a link between PCOS & MC because of the out of whack hormones caused by the condition! Yet DRs say there is nothing to worry about - so hard to know what to believe! But I’m gonna focus on what you said and try to chill out and stop worrying 😂

@Amtheyest17

Thank you *@TiredButDancing* thats made me feel a bit better! Just so difficult as mentioned above I decided to try improving my diet etc to fix my PCOS which I’ve definitely noticed a difference and luckily managed to get pregnant our first month trying (I’m 30) after being on a plan for 3 months… it’s just difficult as amongst nutritionists etc they definitely say that there is a link between PCOS & MC because of the out of whack hormones caused by the condition! Yet DRs say there is nothing to worry about - so hard to know what to believe! But I’m gonna focus on what you said and try to chill out and stop worrying 😂

Obviously, this is just MY experience, but as I have had it explained to me by the various specialist I've seen over the years, when you are pregnant, you do not have PCOS (theoretically). PCOS is about your ability to create hormones at the right time that then leads to ovulation. That process is not needed while you are pregnant so frankly, you don't have the problems. It's also why PCOS sufferers often see other PCOS symptoms improving in pregnancy - in my case, I lost a lot of weight (in a good way) and by the end of my pregnancies was just 3 and 5kg respectively over my pre-conception weight at full term.

Similarly, I am starting to experience very minor first signs of peri-menopause and the doctor I was discussing this with recently pointed out that I'm moving towards a phase where I will start to tell healthcare professionals that I "had" PCOS. Ie it's still relevant as a health history factor, but not day to day.

Certainly, since I came off metformin recently, I have not experienced the INSANE weight gain that has happened every time I've previously stopped taking it. I'm not losing weight without effort, but this is a huge step forward for me.

I have PCOS and had recurrent early miscarriages. I was told that this could be because of low progesterone at the time.

On the other hand, my first successful pregnancy in particular was amazing. I felt better than I ever had before. I felt like my body was fixed.

My first successful pregnancy was after an acupuncturist had done something amazing and my cycle shortened a little and became much more predictable. Metformin and dianette destroyed me for several years. Acupuncture put me back together.

what did you find with metformin? I've come off it recently and I am feeling quite good overall, but had assumed that was because I've got on top of my chronically low iron and vitamin D? Now I'm wondering.

Sorry to hear you had multiple miscarriages.

It's a lot of years ago now. I think the Dianette was far worse for me, but the metformin made me feel sick if I recall right. And I put on so much weight on the Dianette and was slightly hysterical all the time, and then coming off the metformin put on a load more weight. My cycle was completely screwed after coming off Dianette - took years to get back near to regular.

The biggest hurdle with PCOS and getting pregnant, not staying pregnant. It can make it harder to conceive but once you have, you aren't at any higher risk of miscarriage than anyone else (1 in 4 women miscarry, even without PCOS) x

The website I used (slightly obsessively!) was datayze.com/miscarriage-reassurer. There is a 'reassure me' or 'tell it to me straight' mode.

When I read about PCOS apparently leading to a higher rate of miscarriage, I researched it and went to speak to my GP about progesterone. She looked at me like I had two heads and said it isn't given out generally. I've since read that it is in some Health Boards in England (I'm in Scotland) but not as a matter of routine.

I was diagnosed when I was 18 and have asked to go on Metformin more than once but its always been deemed 'not necessary'.

I was on low dose aspirin from 8 weeks which might have had an effect though.

I'm on metformin 2000 mg, myo-inositol 4g and NAC 600 mg, as I read all are supposed to help prevent miscarriage if you have PCOS. But I'm at only 5 weeks with my first baby and very high risk (40 years old, slightly overweight, PCOS as well as probable endometriosis) - so I don't know if they work yet, waiting for my first scan!

Oh and I'm on Progesterone pessaries 400mg twice daily, but I think that's standard for the first few weeks for IVF (my clinic say to stop them after 6 weeks ).

Ah thanks @IamnotwhouthinkIam I was taking NAC but haven’t done so for the last week!! I’ll get back on it from tomorrow. I’m taking a seven seas conception supp, B6, omega 3 and a probiotic atm! All of which I’m sure helped me get pregnant so quickly - I also have endo! When is your first scan? Are you having an early one?

@Waitwhat23 thanks for the website, I’ll deffo be checking that every day! 😂

Annoying that your dr said no to merformin! I just don’t feel like they take PCOS seriously at all 😩 I worked with a nutritionist and it massively helped so worth looking in to if you get a lot of symptoms

@Amtheyest17 - Yep, I'm doing the same - taking a pre-natal (containing B6, folate and vitamin D3 amongst others), a fish oil, and a women's pro-biotic as well as the NAC, myo -inositol and metformin. I feel like I rattle! - but I'll do anything that says it could potentially help the baby/prevent loss.

I've been trying to conceive for a long time, and it's funny that the first cycle where I had been taking NAC for 3 months before hand was the one that worked! It's probably a coincidence as I changed IVF protocol too, but I'm planning to keep it up as I found it made my periods less clotty and painful as well - so I definitely think it's doing some good in my body!

Yes, I'm having an early scan at about 7 weeks because of the IVF (a 6/7 week scan is usually standard practice before they then transfer you from the clinic to NHS maternity care). Fingers crossed for all of us !

I have PCOS and I know that it will be hard for me to conceive, that's one of the reasons why I'm going through with IVF. But honestly it never occured to me that it will be hard to stay pregnant.
Kinda freaking out atm!

@Amtheyest17 the main thing is not to read the internet ! Just focus on your sefl and pregnancy, I was diagnosed with PCOS years before I feel pregnant with my son and he is now 8 years old and a healthy boy! My pregnancy went all well with no complications.

Now we are trying to get pregnant again but unfortunately with no lack for the last 3 years. Since last year I am on fertility treatment so fingers crossed but my DR is useless and not really helping me, appointments every 3 months and blood tests only if I ask for it I feel so left over.