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Today, PCOS is the leading cause of infertility and many women find it difficult to get pregnant naturally with PCOS. To give yourself the best possible chance of getting pregnant naturally with PCOS, read on for helpful tips from these authors.
I Got Pregnant Naturally With PCOS, And You Can Too
By Angelique Panagos
Nutrition practitioner Angelique Panagos has dealt with eating disorders, hypothyroidism, PCOS, infertility, conception and miscarriages. Through it all, she learned valuable lessons about herself and being grateful. And now, she is finally a mother to a baby girl. Life may not always be easy, she explains, but she has learned to be grateful. She is thankful for being able to get pregnant naturally with PCOS and being able to finally reach her goal of motherhood. She has learned to find the beauty in her struggles through her journey to healing.
At age 38, I’ve had a long and difficult health journey. I’ve suffered two miscarriages, struggled with eating disorders, an autoimmune condition and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Luckily I didn’t give up, and I was eventually able to get pregnant and give birth to a healthy baby in February. My health conditions and even my PCOS didn’t prevent me from achieving my lifelong dream of having a child! What helped me was being grateful for what I had, even when it didn’t feel like much, and having faith in the power of food and lifestyle to heal. I am thankful that I was able to get pregnant naturally with PCOS. And looking back, I realize that my health issues are what made me who I am today and what inspired me to become a nutritionist and work to help others. I hope I can inspire you to stay strong as you deal with your illness or chronic condition.
Learning To Be Grateful
I am grateful that with a past history of two miscarriages, eating disorders, hypothyroidism and being 35 years old at the time, I was able to eventually get pregnant naturally even with PCOS. Grateful that my body knew what to do when something was wrong during my miscarriage and that my body did an amazing job handling it.
I am so grateful for all these things, and a loving husband who is my rock, my amazing family—without them I wouldn’t be me—and super supportive friends who have walked this journey with me. The overwhelming support of my loved ones is what helped me become who I am today and what gave me strength to keep going and eventually get pregnant naturally with PCOS.
Healing, At Last
My parents took me to a nutritionist, and I finally took control of my weight and health. With her help, I began to take baby steps to change my habits and beliefs around food. I became so passionate about food and nutrition that I embarked on a four-year study journey to become a nutritionist.
My healing journey is not over. I am not perfect and I don’t claim to be, but I have so many blessings to be grateful for. I am so thankful for being able to get pregnant naturally with PCOS and have my rainbow baby. I hope you can get inspiration from my journey, and know that even if you are struggling with a chronic condition or PCOS, there is always hope.
They Said I’d Never Get Pregnant Naturally with PCOS… Here’s How I Proved Them Wrong
By Amy Medling
I still remember those words as if it was yesterday. I was 18, sitting on the exam table in the clinic at Fairfield University. I had missed five periods in a row and was experiencing other symptoms, such as hirsutism, weight gain and acne. Instead of exploring the idea that I may have PCOS, the doctor told me I was infertile. After that, at every annual OB/GYN visit, I was told how difficult it will be for me to get pregnant, but I never received a PCOS diagnosis.
I got married in my mid-twenties and, after a round of Clomid, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. My husband and I decided to practice natural family planning after that, using the Creighton Model (which relies on biomarkers to tell couples, through NaProTECHNOLOGY, when they’re naturally fertile and infertile). With that plan in place, we were confident that when we were ready to have another, it would just happen, maybe with another round of Clomid. But charting my cycles revealed that I wasn’t ovulating. It was devastating to desperately want another child and not be able to conceive, especially when all of my friends were having second babies. Every month was a cycle of anxiety and disappointment. It was one of the most emotionally difficult periods of my life.
I wanted to manage my PCOS naturally, and I knew my diet was one of the biggest things that had to change. I was consuming way too many processed foods: I ate tons of sugar-free, low-carb foods, drank Diet Coke by the quart, and my idea of a healthy dinner was an Orange Glazed Chicken Lean Cuisine. So every evening I spent hours researching different diets, supplements, and lifestyle changes.
I discovered that by crowding out gluten and dairy and focusing more on whole, plant-based foods, clean protein and processed soy-free options, I was on the path to a new me. I started swapping gluten grains for brown rice and quinoa and transitioned from cow’s milk to coconut and nut milks. Cheese and ice cream slowly made their way out of my diet. What happened? The weight started to come off, my energy levels increased, my skin cleared, and my mood brightened. I just felt better.
By the time my boys were seven and four, life was good! We were eating well, I was active daily and I began making time for myself. My husband noticed the difference and starting calling me a Diva. He was right! I was looking and feeling terrific and that’s when I was inspired to start blogging about my experience, hoping to help other women struggling with the same situation.
One morning during the spring of 2008, I woke up feeling exhausted. I thought I was coming down with the flu, but I soon found out I was 11 weeks pregnant. My family welcomed a little princess in January of 2009. It felt like a miracle after doctors told me that I would never get pregnant again without fertility treatments. But truthfully, it wasn’t a miracle: I attribute this fertility drug-free pregnancy to my healthy lifestyle and finding a physical and mental balance.
Note: PLEASE consult with your doctor before making any changes to your diet or medications. The material on this site is provided for educational purposes only, and is not to be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
