Can I get pregnant naturally with PCOS?

This is one of the major concerns that weigh on women’s minds who have been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome or more commonly referred to as PCOS.

Why is getting pregnant such a concern for women with PCOS?

PCOS is one of the most common causes of female infertility.

Like you, when I was diagnosed with PCOS, I was told that trying to get pregnant would be difficult and that I would most likely need fertility treatment to conceive.

Well, it wasn’t until I wanted to get pregnant that I was diagnosed with PCOS (talk about that blow).

Unfortunately, I have learned that this is all too common. Many women don’t find out they have PCOS until they have difficulty trying to conceive. But this isn’t really a surprise considering that 50% of women with PCOS go undiagnosed.

I remember feeling at a loss and so depressed by this news. I cried the entire drive home.

I felt like someone had just crushed my hopes and dreams of becoming a mom. Something that I had wanted as long as I could remember.

Now I had two obstacles to tackle; the first being how to deal with PCOS and understanding what that meant and second getting pregnant.  

After letting my diagnosis sink in, I decided that I was going to research and beat PCOS! No one was going to tell me that I couldn’t have what I wanted most in this world.

I dove headfirst into unknown waters and decided that I need to make some impactful changes to get my health and fertility under control. I knew that if I could get physically healthy, that I would become pregnant naturally.

These are the 10 steps I took to get pregnant with PCOS and get my fertility back on track.

Here is exactly what I did to get pregnant with PCOS!

Disclaimer: I did all these things listed below before trying to get pregnant. When we were ready to begin trying to have a baby, I got pregnant in month 2. So, it does work! 

Update: I am currently pregnant with my second child and this time I got pregnant on the 1st try! So what I am saying works, it isn’t a fluke.

1.      I started a low carb diet.

Understanding a proper diet for PCOS is critical!

Approximately 80% of women with PCOS have insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is one of the major reasons that your hormones are off-balance and is the main contributor to your PCOS symptoms.

In order to have a healthy pregnancy with PCOS, you MUST address insulin resistance first!! Not sure where to start? Read this post about 5 Signs you are insulin resistant and what to do about them.

To help me address my insulin resistance, I met with a nutritionist who explained what to look for when choosing foods, how carbs work in the body, how to read nutrition labels, how many calories I needed to eat to achieve weight loss and to sustain it.

She also explained that it is better to eat 5-6 smaller meals vs the traditional 3 larger meals. Smaller meals help to stabilize your blood sugar levels. It also keeps you satiated. These are two very important elements for women with PCOS.

I also learned how to count carbs and to determine how many carbs I should be having each time I would eat.

To be honest, if you really want to beat PCOS, I would highly recommend meeting with a nutritionist. They can personalize a detailed plan for you. Most insurance plans will cover the cost of visits with a referral from your doctor.

Knowledge is power and the information they can teach you is something most people are never taught. Even trained medical professionals only are taught a few hours of information about nutrition while they are in medical school.

If you do plan on seeing a nutritionist, make sure you read this post about how to get the most out of your visit.

2.      Exercised regularly.

Exercising is vital for optimal physical and mental health. Exercise is incredibly beneficial for women with PCOS.

The benefits of exercise for women with PCOS include:

• increased insulin sensitivity

• helps to regulate menstrual cycles and ovulation

• lowers cholesterol

• strengthens your heart

• aids in weight loss

• improves mood

• relieves stress and anxiety

• helps regulate sleep

Since exercise is so important and offers a host of benefits, it should play a large role in your treatment plan for PCOS.

So what types of exercise should you be doing?

My routine involved a cardio and strength training sequence. I also incorporated High-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts.

HIIT workouts are one of the most effective types of exercises for women with PCOS. Make sure to read this post about the benefits of HIIT for PCOS and to get a sample workout routine!

There are a couple of important takeaways when it comes to starting an exercise plan.

The first thing is to start slow. If you are new to working out, you want to increase duration and intensity gradually. This will reduce the chance of injury and muscle strain.

The second thing is you want to have a well-balanced routine. You don’t want to just to one type of exercise. That will stress out your body and that is the last thing you want to do. By changing up your routine, you’re keeping the body guessing and you are less likely to reach a weight loss plateau.

And don’t forget to exercise while you are pregnant. It can reduce your risk for gestational diabetes, help shorten labor, keep your weight gain to a healthy amount, improve your mood, and help you sleep better.

3.      Lost weight.

By eating a low carb diet and exercising, I was able to lose 20 pounds before I became pregnant. This equaled 13 % of my body weight.

Studies have found that even a modest weight loss can improve insulin sensitivity. Remember improving your insulin sensitivity can positively impact your hormones and restore menstrual cycles and ovulation.

I’m not going to lie, weight loss with PCOS can be tricky but it can definitely be done! Make sure to check out this post titled Insulin resistance: The real reason your not losing weight with PCOS for more weight loss tips and tricks!

Want an EXACT, DETAILED PLAN? This PLAN will help you lose weight and get PREGNANT!!

4.      Had my blood sugars in check.

With these lifestyle changes mentioned above, I was able to get my blood sugars regulated. My fasting glucose went down into the normal range and my hemoglobin A1c was normal as well.

What is considered normal ranges for blood sugar levels?

A fasting glucose test determines how much glucose is in your blood after an overnight fast. A normal fasting glucose would be less than 100.

For individuals without diabetes, a normal hemoglobin A1c is between 4% and 5.6 %. The hemoglobin A1c test tells you your average level of blood sugar over the past 2 to 3 months.

It is imperative that your blood sugars are within normal when you get pregnant because gestational diabetes can have major effects on your baby and pregnancy. Women with PCOS can be at greater risk for developing gestational diabetes during pregnancy so you want to do everything you can to get your sugars in order prior to conceiving with PCOS.

If you need help regulating your blood sugars? You should try Ovasitol. Ovasitol is an inositol supplement that helps with insulin sensitivity, promotes egg quality, and helps support hormone levels.

I personally use and like Ovasitol. I was taking Ovasitol the 2nd time I got pregnant and that time I got pregnant on the 1st try!! For more information on Ovasitol and how it works, check out my review of Ovasitol for PCOS.

5.      Tracked my cycle.

This can be tricky with PCOS, I know, but if you can find a pattern with your period that is important. And hopefully, if you follow my tips listed above, you will be able to regulate your cycle. Many women have claimed that Ovasitol helped them achieve a regular period.

Why should you track your cycle?

Tracking your period will help you to figure out if you are ovulating and when you are fertile. Because timing is everything when you are trying to get pregnant with PCOS. Once you have a handle on the length of your periods and how often they occur, you are more likely to have success getting pregnant with PCOS naturally.

To help you track your periods, I recommend trying a fertility tracker. I tried many different apps, all at the same time, and found that the App called Period Diary to be the best and most accurate. It predicts when you should expect your period, your fertile window, and your ovulation.

There are also more comprehensive trackers like Ovusense. Ovusense measures continuous Core Body Temperature using a specially designed sensor clinically proven in 2 trials and 6 clinical publications.

Ovusense is able to track your fluctuations in progesterone and can predict ovulation 24 hours in advance using the cycle data and can confirm the exact date of ovulation, and can discover your unique pattern each cycle. This is why this tracker is recommended for women with PCOS.

Interested in trying it?

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6.      Took my prenatals.

One key tip I can give you is to start taking those prenatals months before you plan to start trying for a baby.

You never know when you are going to get pregnant and you want to make sure the baby is getting all the nutrients it needs to thrive.

The most critical nutrient you need during early pregnancy is folic acid. Folic acid is critical to fetal spinal development. Just four weeks after conception, the neural tube along your baby's back is closing. The baby's brain and spinal cord will develop from the neural tube.

It is important to note that people with MTHFR mutations cannot break down folic acid into its usable form. As a result, I recommend taking a prenatal that contains folate rather the synthetic form folic acid.

Here are my top choices for the best prenatal vitamins for PCOS.

You can get tested to know if you have the MTHFR mutation. Most doctors won’t think of testing you for this so it is imperative to be your own advocate.

7.      Had sex every other day.

When I met with my OB/GYN before getting pregnant, they told me that it is best to have sex every other day. The reason being that you want your man’s reserves to be replenished. That makes for better swimmers that can get the job done.

Plus, sperm can live in the body for up to 5 days so, that makes sure that sperm are constantly present and ready to make a baby.

This GUIDE is a MUST have for every woman who wants to become pregnant.

8.      Reduced my stress surrounding getting pregnant.

Most people get annoyed when they hear this but there is something to be said for it.

Stress does not help you get pregnant. Worrying about it every month is doing you more harm than good!!!

Just enjoy the ride and have fun and when you get the line on the stick you will be overjoyed and surprised.

9.      Focused on positive thoughts about my baby.

I focused on positive thoughts about what my baby would look and be like. It always brought a smile to my face to think of my baby. This can be really helpful on the difficult days too!

They say the more you think about things, the more you attract them. So put out good vibes, and let that positivity in. What have you go to lose!

And here’s the crazy thing, my son is exactly what I envisioned and hoped for! Law of attraction at its best! 😊

10.   Reduced my toxic load.

I think this tip is the most valuable one.

There are so many things that are harmful during pregnancy. There are a lot of things that women aren’t informed about (beauty, cleaning, diet, exercises, daily activities, etc.) that can cause harm to their baby.

Studies show that there are over 287 chemicals detected in umbilical cord blood. It is known that 180 of those chemicals cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests.  That is scary!!! This little human hasn’t even taken their first breath and they already haven been exposed to toxic chemicals.

I treated my body as those I were already pregnant so changing these habits and behaviors wouldn’t be a shock to my body once I was expecting. One of the biggest changes I made was to my beauty and personal care products. I switched to more all-natural products that didn’t contain harsh chemicals.

Want to do what I did? Check out my comprehensive pregnancy guide. You’ll be glad you did. It teaches you how to reduce your toxic load so you can minimize your baby’s exposure to harmful chemicals.

I want to leave you with a little food for thought about getting pregnant. Here are some stats to consider.

According to the American Pregnancy Association:

·        A healthy couple has only a 25% chance of getting pregnant each month.

·        The lifespan of an egg is 12-24 hours.

·        It is possible to ovulate even if a period hasn’t occurred.

A PCOS pregnancy is not out of the question. Don’t lose hope. Your body can do tremendous things. It might take a little extra work on your part, but if a baby is something you long for, I know you are willing to do what it takes to make it happen. PCOS and pregnancy success do not have to be mutually exclusive. I’m rooting for you!

The items listed above are accompanied by affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission if a purchase is made through my links. This has no impact on the cost to the consumer. I link to products this way whenever possible, and it has no bearing on the products I choose to review or recommend.

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