In fact, research has suggested that women with PCOS are more likely to have a miscarriage with 30-50% of PCOS women likely to miscarry compared to 10-15% of women without PCOS.
Polycystic ovary syndrome and spontaneous miscarriage
PCOS women are at risk of EPL, defined clinically as first trimester miscarriage. EPL occurs in 30 to 50% of PCOS women compared with 10 to 15% of normal women. [12,13] The EPL rate in PCOS women has been difficult to establish due to several confounding factors.
Pregnancy complications related to PCOS include: Miscarriage or early loss of pregnancy. Women with PCOS are three times as likely to miscarry in the early months of pregnancy as are women without PCOS. Some research shows that metformin may reduce the risk of miscarriage in pregnant women with PCOS.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Miscarriage
In women with PCOS, however, the risk is about three times the normal risk. Many specialists believe that the rate of early pregnancy loss in PCOS women is due to other related factors, including a higher incidence of insulin resistance, hyperandrogenemia, and obesity.
Higher testosterone levels are also associated with recurrent miscarriages in people with PCOS and those with high androgen levels. Elevated testosterone reduces uterine receptivity, making it harder for an embryo to implant successfully into the uterus. This increases the rate of early miscarriage.
While PCOS can have an impact on your fertility and your pregnancy, with the right care and treatment, conception and a healthy pregnancy are completely possible — and even probable!
Best age to get pregnant with PCOS
The best time for women with PCOS to get pregnant is before they turn 30. It's possible to conceive up to the age of 37, but fertility declines after the age of 32 with steeper decline occurring after age 37.
If you have PCOS you may struggle to become pregnant and may be at higher risk of developing some pregnancy complications.
The oral diabetes medication metformin seems to reduce the chance of a late miscarriage and premature birth among women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) but does not affect their rate of developing gestational diabetes, a multicenter study finds.
The best way to prevent miscarriage in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is to normalize hormone levels to improve ovulation, and normalize blood glucose and androgen levels. Recently, more doctors are prescribing the drug metformin to help with this.
And because some medications used in the treatment of PCOS can increase your HCG levels, a false-positive result could be present as a result of taking these meds. However, PCOS itself will not result in having a false positive test.
Although it is difficult to give statistics as cases vary so much and different treatments have different success rates, most women with PCOS will be able to have a baby with fertility treatment. For women who are under 35, this is even more the case.
It is normal to experience some bleeding after pregnancy loss. The first day of bleeding is day 1 of the new menstrual cycle. Bleeding or spotting may continue for around a week after this. Ovulation may occur around 2 weeks into this new cycle.
Myo-inositol is a substance much like vitamin B. It is used to help women with PCOS conceive and may also help avoid miscarriage. Although evidence suggests that Myo-Inositol is helpful, many people are confused as to how to use it properly.
Most miscarriages - 8 out of 10 (80 percent) - happen in the first trimester before the 12th week of pregnancy. Miscarriage in the second trimester (between 13 and 19 weeks) happens in 1 to 5 in 100 (1 to 5 percent) pregnancies. Pregnancy loss that happens after 20 weeks is called stillbirth.
Use of metformin throughout pregnancy in women with PCOS has shown to reduce the rates of early pregnancy loss, preterm labor, and prevention of fetal growth restriction.
The benefit of metformin on ovulation in women with polycystic ovaries is not seen right away. There is some benefit starting about a month after beginning metformin. Metformin has a more substantial benefit for fertility when the woman has been taking it for at least 60 to 90 days.
The main adverse effects that may occur while taking metformin for PCOS include various gastrointestinal symptoms. Some of these symptoms are nausea, flatulence, diarrhea, bloating, metallic taste, abdominal pain, and anorexia. Metformin may also result in malabsorption of vitamin B12 in your small intestine.
Since follicular growth is disrupted in PCOS patients, especially during Controlled Ovarian Hyper stimulation (COH), a decreased number of good oocytes/embryos in ART cycles are a widespread problem. As previous studies have shown, various factors can affect the quality of the oocytes and embryo.
PCOS and twins
Women with PCOS may be more likely to have multiples (twins, or more). One study found that while the multiple pregnancy rate is 1.1% in the average population, it is 9.1% for women with PCOS patients.
No, unfortunately, PCOS is a chronic condition. However, it is not uncommon for women with PCOS to experience a cessation of their symptoms while they are pregnant. Moreover, many women with the condition have reported an improvement to their regular menstrual cycle after they have been pregnant.
Natural fertility begins to decline significantly for women around age 32. With the addition of an ovarian syndrome, women over 30 with PCOS will have greater risks associated with pregnancy, but a healthy pregnancy is still possible.
Normally, ovarian follicles contain egg cells, which are released during ovulation. In polycystic ovary syndrome, abnormal hormone levels prevent follicles from growing and maturing to release egg cells. Instead, these immature follicles accumulate in the ovaries. Affected women can have 12 or more of these follicles.
A HEALTHY PREGNANCY IS POSSIBLE
Women who get pregnant after 30 or who have PCOS will have more risks associated with pregnancy. One of these risks is gestational diabetes. However, there are steps a woman can take to prevent or manage gestational diabetes and have a healthy pregnancy.