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]]>Birth Control After Baby:
Birth Control After Baby: Popular Methods And Options By Dr. Christine Sterling M. D.
Birth Control After Baby: After having a baby, it is best to wait at least 6 weeks before resuming intercourse. Once you become sexually active again, pregnancy becomes possible. To minimize pregnancy risks, the World Health Organization recommends delaying pregnancy for at least 18 months after giving birth.
Lactation
Many women believe that breastfeeding prevents pregnancy, and it does sometimes. However, relying on lactation to prevent pregnancy is tricky. To be an effective form of contraception, all of the following conditions must be met:
- Less than 6 months postpartum
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Breastfeeding exclusively with no more than 4 hours in between feedings (no supplementation of any kind, including food)
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Not having a period. It is important to note that you can ovulate and get pregnant before your first period after birth.
BREASTFEEDING YOUR NEWBORN: WHAT TO EXPECT
Combined-hormonal contraception- the pill, ring, and patch
These forms of contraception contain both estrogen and progesterone. They are not generally recommended for women who are breastfeeding as the estrogen can decrease milk supply. For those who are not breastfeeding, these forms of contraception can be initiated after 6 weeks.
Estrogen-containing birth control increases the risk of blood clots. Women who are less than 6 weeks postpartum should not use this form of birth control. These forms of contraception are about 91% effective at preventing pregnancy.
Copper intrauterine device
This highly effective form of contraception has no hormones and is placed inside your uterus by your doctor. The chance of getting pregnant while using the copper IUD, known as ParaGuard in the US, is less than 1%. Your doctor can insert it in the office and it is effective immediately.
The Paraguard IUD is best for women with light to moderate periods. As it can increase the amount of bleeding during your time of menstruation. Some women also report increased cramping with their periods, though this typically gets better within 6 months of placement. The copper IUD is FDA approved for 10 years of contraception, but research supports effectiveness for up to 12 years.
Progesterone-containing intrauterine device
There are 4 different progesterone containing IUDs on the market in the US. They are all small T-shaped devices that are placed in your uterus by a doctor in a simple office procedure. Placement typically takes under a minute. The IUDs differ in size and progesterone dose. The Skyla and the Kyleena are the smallest in size.
The Skyla has the lowest dose of progesterone hormone and lasts for only 3 years. Higher doses of progesterone mean the IUD works for longer. Also, better able to decrease the amount of menstrual bleeding. The Kyleena is small, like the Skyla, but has a higher dose of progesterone. That is why it works for 5 years and is more likely to decrease or stop your periods.
The Mirena and the Liletta have the highest dose of progesterone. The Mirena lasts for 6 years. Furthermore, 1 in 5 Mirena users no longer have a period after 1 year of use. The progesterone IUDs are over 99% effective at preventing pregnancy. Also, can be used to treat heavy periods and pelvic pain. They are effective within one week of placement. Also, can be removed before their expiration date should you decide to pursue pregnancy or change your mind. Removal is usually a quick and painless process.
HOW TO STRENGTHEN YOUR PELVIC FLOOR AFTER BIRTH
Birth control implant
In the US, Nexplanon is the only available birth control implant. Nexplanon contains progesterone hormone and is the most effective form of contraception available. It is even more effective than getting your tubes tied, though it is not permanent.
The Nexplanon is a small device about the size of a matchstick. That is inserted in the upper arm by a doctor under local anesthesia. Insertion takes only a few minutes, and it prevents pregnancy for 4 years. Most women experience a decrease in their monthly menstrual flow. However, some women have irregular bleeding for the first 6 months or so.
Nexplanon can be removed at any time. Removal, like placement, is typically a simple procedure done in the office with minimal downtime.
Progesterone-only pill
This oral contraceptive, called the “mini-pill” by some. This is a pill that must be taken at the same time every day in order to be effective. Ovulation and pregnancy can occur if you miss a dose by more than 3 hours. For many remembering to take a pill every day at the exact same time is challenging.
This may help explain why it is only 91% effective at preventing pregnancy. On the upside, it does not require a separate office visit for insertion. Like the long-acting reversible contraceptive devices (IUDs and Nexplanon).
Progesterone injection
In the US, Depo-Provera is available as an injection you get every 3 months. This injection of progesterone is 94% effective at preventing pregnancy. It can cause weight gain and cannot be removed once the injection is given.
About the Author:
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]]>IVF Process Can Differ for Women With Endometriosis:
How the IVF Process Can Differ for Women With Endometriosis, by Joanie Cox-Henry (Endometriosis Foundation of America).
March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. PregnancyBeyond has teamed up with EndoFound to raise awareness of this disorder. Also, fertility health issue that affects millions of women worldwide.
This article discusses the impact of endometriosis on IVF outcomes.
As The Blossom recently reported, having endometriosis and conceiving the old-fashioned way, can have its difficulties, but with a little help from in vitro fertilization, experts say endo women can have a higher success rate with conception.
However, the IVF process can differ from endometriosis present. Because doctors interviewed by The Blossom say they take care to not worsen the condition. With the introduction of additional hormones in the body.
Dr. Mark Surrey, co-founder and medical director of the Southern California Reproductive Center. Who specializes in fertility and reproductive medicine. Says that prior to beginning ovarian stimulation, which is necessary for egg retrieval. He advises women with endometriosis to undergo laparoscopic excision surgery to excise endometriomas. Or endometriosis-filled cysts, “three to four centimeters or larger.”
To start the IVF process in a woman without endo, Surrey says he typically gives Lupron and progesterone-based oral contraceptives to begin the follicle stimulation process. But for women with endometriosis, he instead administers Ganirelix or Cetrotide, which prevents premature ovulation ahead of egg retrieval, because, he says, it doesn’t have a “flare phase,” or cause an endo flair-up, and promotes adequate follicular development.
Dr. Jessica Chan, a fertility specialist in Obstetrics at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, says she, too, recommends a conservative laparoscopic excision surgery to remove endometriomas before beginning a cycle of IVF. If the cysts are under four centimeters, she says she typically leaves those alone and simply monitors them. “Egg quality and quantity decline with age,” Chan tells The Blossom. “Endometriomas can take over the architecture of the ovary. The sooner women can seek help, the better.” That’s not all Chan is mindful of. Once the IVF process begins, “it can increase levels of estrogen, which can cause endometriosis to flare,” Chan said. “However, it’s a short time that patients have to be on those protocols. I’m very careful about monitoring pain symptoms in patients with endometriosis during ovarian stimulation.”
SEE ALSO: ENDOMETRIOSIS AND CONCEPTION
Director of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Lenox Hill Hospital, Dr. Tomer Singer, has found that patients with endometriosis typically need double the number of cycles to achieve viable pregnancy through IVF. This is often due, he says, to diminished egg quality.
“We tend to monitor patients with endometriosis more frequently,” Singer said. “During ovarian stimulation in endometriosis patients, I typically use Letrozole, which reduces estrogen levels. I also use Lupron, which helps pelvic pain. Lupron is typically used 35 hours before egg retrieval.”
Singer recommends women check out Sartcorsonline.com/Predictor/Patient and enter some information to predict success rates with assisted reproductive technology. For women with endometriosis, the calculator also provides a specific box to check off. Despite the wonders of assisted reproductive technology, Singer admits that there’s no better savior in the face of endometriosis and fertility than time itself. “If you have endometriosis, we encourage freezing eggs at a younger age,” Singer adds. “If a patient freezes eggs at age 30,” he says, “they have a 50 percent IVF success rate.” (Article was first published here)
About EndoFound: The Endometriosis Foundation of America strives to increase disease recognition, provide advocacy, facilitate expert surgical training, and fund landmark endometriosis research. Engaged in a robust campaign to inform both the medical community and the public, the Endofound places particular emphasis on the critical importance of early diagnosis and effective intervention while simultaneously providing education to the next generation of medical professionals and their patients.
Join us over at the PB Moms Exclusive Circle, where we invite healthcare experts to prepare us for life after childbirth and motherhood. Go to: pregnancybeyond.com/exclusive-circle.
Follow PregnancyBeyond on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
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]]>Getting Pregnant With Endometriosis:
Getting Pregnant With Endometriosis: What You Need to Know, by Joanie Cox-Henry (Endometriosis Foundation of America),
March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. PregnancyBeyond have teamed up with EndoFound to raise awareness of this disorder. Also, fertility health issue that affects millions of women worldwide.
This article discusses what you should know about getting pregnant when you have endometriosis.
Getting pregnant and delivering a healthy, bouncing baby is something that, sadly, many women with endometriosis may never experience. The statistics can be even more sobering, with one study claiming that women with mild cases of the disease have only a 2 to 4 percent chance of getting pregnant each month compared to the 15 to 20 percent chance women without the disease have.
But for those who can conceive, what can be the happiest time of their lives can quickly turn into the scariest.
“Women with endometriosis are at risk for preterm labor, hypertension, and pre-eclampsia,” Dr. Jessica Chan, a fertility specialist in the Department of Obstetrics at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, tells The Blossom. “Bleeding during the pregnancy can also be scary, and there is a higher risk for c-section in the end.”
Time is also unkinder to the endo woman hoping to become a mom.
“Between the ages of 32 and 37, women can have as much as a 50 percent decline in fertility,” says Dr. Mark Surrey, co-founder and Medical Director of the Southern California Reproductive Center. “For women with endometriosis, egg quality and quantity can especially be affected.”
ALSO SEE: “WE BEAT INFERTILITY “
Dr. Tomer Singer, Director of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC, has also seen women with endometriosis experience a slightly increased risk for miscarriage. “With endometriosis, a dilated fallopian tube can flush an embryo out. Endometriosis often goes hand-in-hand with adenomyosis, a condition in which endometrial tissue, which normally lines the uterus, exists within and grows into the muscular wall of the uterus.”
Singer said this could give the uterus a Swiss cheese-like appearance with a lot of black holes in the glands and muscles. “It increases the risk of failed implantation and early miscarriage in the first eight weeks of pregnancy.”
Many patients experience increased pelvic pain as their pregnancy closes in on the 40-week mark. “Ovaries can be enlarged because of endometriomas and adenomyosis can cause the uterus to be physically larger,” adds Singer, which can cause additional pain.
Still, all is not lost for endo women hoping to conceive, as many continue to defy the odds and welcome motherhood. “Some patients have Stage III or IV Endometriosis in their bladder or uterus and end up needing surgery before they can safely conceive. In some more severe cases, a patient can better benefit from a gestational carrier.” (Article was first published here)
About EndoFound: The Endometriosis Foundation of America strives to increase disease recognition. Provide advocacy, facilitate expert surgical training, and fund landmark endometriosis research. Engaged in a robust campaign to inform both the medical community and the public. The Endofound places particular emphasis on the critical importance of early diagnosis and effective intervention. While simultaneously providing education to the next generation of medical professionals and their patients.
Join us over at the PB Moms Exclusive Circle. Where we invite healthcare experts to prepare us for life after childbirth and motherhood. Go to: pregnancybeyond.com/exclusive-circle.
Follow PregnancyBeyond on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
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]]>Pregnant With Endometriosis:
Pregnant With Endometriosis – My Super Scary Pregnancy, by Joanie Cox-Henry (Endometrorises Foundation of America)
March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, and we at PregnancyBeyond have teamed up with EndoFound to raise awareness of this disorder and fertility health issue that affects millions of women worldwide.
In today’s post, one mom shares her story of living as pregnant With Endometriosis.
Being pregnant at 37 comes with its own bag of stress factors, including being labeled a “geriatric mother” à la Bridget Jones. But being pregnant at 37 with endometriosis takes the worry factor to skyscraper heights. I should be worrying about what theme I want to make my baby’s nursery or which baby shampoo is safest to use, but instead, I’m on a merry-go-ground of doctor’s appointments and fear that has left me Googling until the wee hours of the morning.
Before I could even consider trying to safely conceive, I had to endure countless painful tests and multiple surgeries to remove a uterine fibroid the size of a six-month-old fetus and a chocolate cyst that choked out my left ovary, which my doctor removed. I miraculously gave birth to my first son in 2014 at the age of 34. I was given a less than 13 percent chance of ever conceiving and IVF was never an option for me because the drugs I would’ve had to take were going to make my endometriosis spread like wildfire.
But after a lot of specialized care and prayer, I beat the odds and delivered a healthy 8-pound, 9-ounce bundle of joy.
Three years later, I was overjoyed to become pregnant again. But with much more concern this time about complications due to my age and a more advanced case of endometriosis. Every time I peed, I was terrified I was going to see blood. On Dec. 15, my worst nightmare came true. I got my son dressed to take photos with Santa at our local mall. I decided to hit the bathroom one more time before heading out.
When I reached down to wipe myself, a meteor shower of bright red blood and large clots washed over my hand. I immediately burst into tears and felt completely paralyzed. I was eight weeks pregnant at the time and still very much in the danger zone for miscarriage. Also, I had recently remembered reading an article. Which said women with endometriosis are 76 percent more likely to have a miscarriage than women without the condition. Knowing the facts, I felt like hope was literally going down the toilet.
I gently placed the largest clot, which was about the size of a 5-ounce steak, on a tissue near my sink, and wondered: “Is this, my baby?” It was the worst feeling I had ever felt. I was helpless—frozen on my toilet convinced my miracle had just disappeared. My fingers cramped up as I attempted to dial my husband, who was still at work, and my aunt Maryann, who I was planning to pick up on my way to the mall. I could hardly speak. “I think I’m having a miscarriage,” I wailed into the phone.
My aunt told me not to move and that she was on her way. My granny came to watch my 3-year-old son as Maryann picked me up and drove me to the ER. As I walked in, with blood pouring down between my legs, I tried with every cell in my body not to let any more of that blood spill out. A nurse immediately got me a wheelchair once he realized the condition I was in.
I was quickly taken to a bed, administered an IV, and assured a doctor was coming to check on me. As I lay there, I sobbed thinking of all the maternity clothes I had just ordered from Old Navy and how I didn’t want to even open the packages if I was, in fact, having a miscarriage. My heart remained optimistic while my mind took me to a dark place where I was contemplating if I should start planning my baby’s funeral. I didn’t even know if it was a girl or boy yet, but this child already had my heart. If need be, in that instant, I would’ve traded my life. I cried, I cursed, and I prayed silently in my head as I waited for answers.
After about 40 minutes, which seemed like an eternity. I was rolled into a sonogram room. Where the sonogram tech was stoic and harder to read than a Calculus book. “What’s happening?” I pleaded.
“Is my baby still alive? Can you see my baby?”
She urged me to calm down and told me she wasn’t allowed to tell me anything until the doctor came in. “Please, I am begging you to tell me something. I feel broken. Is my baby alive?”
And then, she showed me his beautiful little body with his arms and legs perched in battle mode. The child seriously appeared to be posed in the stance of the Fighting Irish leprechaun from Notre Dame. An ocean of relief washed over me. I was too thankful to speak. I just let out a big cry of gratitude.
When the ER doctor met with me and examined me, he determined it was likely a hematoma. His prognosis was very matter-of-fact. “It’s either going to be ok, or it’s not,” he said. “Let’s stay positive and hope for the best.”
I was then handed a bunch of papers with the terminology “Threatened Abortion” on them. My pregnancy was now like a dangling treasure almost out of reach and balancing off a cliff. It was hard to stay calm and take it easy, but in the following weeks, I had no choice but to do just that. I was placed on pelvic rest and had to refrain from exercise, sex, and other activities I normally did.
I am now five months pregnant with my little boy who I have lovingly nicknamed “The Fighting Irish”. Because he is a fighter just like I am. I am still high risk and routinely visit a perinatologist now in addition to constant visits to my OB-GYN. Endometriosis has caused my pregnancy to be a rollercoaster ride, including causing false positives on tests and causing me more pain than if I didn’t have the disease. I’ve also been warned: antepartum bleeding tends to be more common among women with endometriosis. But my baby and I are survivors, and while I’m not out of the woods just yet, I’m not out of hope and strength, either.
We’re in this together. ( Article was first published here)
ALSO SEE: TIPS FOR DEALING WITH MORNING SICKNESS
About EndoFound: The Endometriosis Foundation of America strives to increase disease recognition, provide advocacy, facilitate expert surgical training, and fund landmark endometriosis research. Engaged in a robust campaign to inform both the medical community and the public. The Endofound places particular emphasis on the critical importance of early diagnosis and effective intervention. While simultaneously providing education to the next generation of medical professionals and their patients.
Join us over at the PB Moms Exclusive Circle. Where we invite healthcare experts to prepare us for life after childbirth and motherhood. Go to: pregnancybeyond.com/exclusive-circle.
Follow PregnancyBeyond on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
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Endometrioses Success Story: “Every Night I Prayed For My Baby”, By Shenna Foster (Endometriosis Foundation of America).
March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. PregnancyBeyond has teamed up with EndoFound to raise awareness of this disorder. Also, fertility health issue that affects millions of women worldwide.
Today’s post is an endo success story; Reporter Diana Falzone is pregnant with a boy!
Reporter Diana Falzone has a bun in the oven!
Falzone, 35, reveals that she is four months pregnant with a boy.
“Every night I prayed for this child and to now see him on sonograms is a miracle”. Falzone tells The Blossom exclusively.
It’s a joyous surprise for the reporter who has been outspoken with her endometriosis struggle. “I’m still kind of shocked, honestly,” she says. “I have a bump, and I’ll brush my hand and be in disbelief that it’s there. I’m acutely aware of how many women struggle to conceive and don’t have that opportunity. I’ve been blessed. Every single week that goes by I’m closer to meeting my baby boy, and I’m so excited.”
The road to motherhood has been a bumpy one for the TV personality.
Back in February 2016, she had her first endometriosis-related excision surgery after months of dead-end doctor visits.
Then, in June 2017, Falzone was rushed into yet another excision surgery, where doctors discovered her uterus was fused to her abdomen.
Despite those setbacks, Falzone tells The Blossom she remained determined to one day become a mother, no matter what.
“When I was told I was infertile, I was, of course, heartbroken, but after the initial shock, I was determined to become a mother whether it meant biologically or through adoption. I was going to exhaust my options until I didn’t have any.”
After starting hormone therapy in September and embryo transfer in November, Falzone was forced to wait. “You have to tell yourself that whatever happens, you’ll be okay with it. Whatever is meant to be is meant to be. And there’s a high failure rate. It’s an incredibly stressful time, it’s very emotional, and it’s very scary.”
Falzone says it isn’t lost on her how lucky she is to conceive despite having endometriosis. “I have heard from women. Who had to have hysterectomies due to endo and lost their dream of having a child. They are on my mind always. I hope the more the endo community continues to speak up, we will make a tremendous change, and a cure will happen in our lifetime.” ( Article was first published here)
ALSO SEE: MOM OF TRIPLETS PENS EMOTIONAL LETTER TO INFERTILITY
About EndoFound: The Endometriosis Foundation of America strives to increase disease recognition. Provide advocacy, facilitate expert surgical training, and fund landmark endometriosis research. Engaged in a robust campaign to inform both the medical community and the public. The Endofound places particular emphasis on the critical importance of early diagnosis and effective intervention. While simultaneously providing education to the next generation of medical professionals and their patients.
Join us over at the PB Moms Exclusive Circle. Where we invite healthcare experts to prepare us for life after childbirth and motherhood. Go to: pregnancybeyond.com/exclusive-circle.
Follow PregnancyBeyond on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
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]]>Emotional Letter:
Emotional Letter – Mom of Triplets Pens To Infertility.
Dear Infertility,
I hated you.
You steal dreams. You break hearts. You bring grief. You consume lives. You are the reason I couldn’t get pregnant on my own. You drowned my heart in deep misery from the inability to become a Mother how most women do. You told me that my body wasn’t good enough. You may have been a huge part of my story, but you never defined me. And on this day, two years ago, I kicked your ass. I defeated you. I showed you that there is a victory in infertility and God finally planted life in my womb.
Infertility, there are so many things you brought with you when you entered my life. It wasn’t just that I couldn’t get pregnant. You brought me more tears than I ever thought I could shed. Because of you, I laid on my bathroom floor in complete emptiness after countless negative pregnancy tests time and time again. I had to endure shots, bruises, and all kinds of meds because when you are infertile and you seek fertility treatment for help, that is what you are in for. You are expensive and exhausting physically, emotionally, and mentally. Infertility, you drowned my heart in disappointment and agony. And truthfully, it was pretty painful every time I heard the words “I’m pregnant” from someone other than myself. And yet, in the midst of all of that-you brought me hope.
As much as I hated you, Infertility, I am also so thankful that you were my story. You made me strong. Even before I got pregnant, my strength was rising. Not only did I feel like Superwoman after all of those injections, meds, blood draws, doctor visits, etc. but I found strength emotionally, as well. I learned how to be brave and walk our story with faith trusting that God knew every single detail better than I did. I learned how to be courageous as my husband gave me a progesterone shot that hurt like you wouldn’t believe every single night for 2 months so I could get and stay pregnant. Infertility, you taught me that I am never alone in my darkest days.
Never did I imagine I would be labeled as infertile. Nor did I imagine that we would seek fertility treatment. However, infertility, it is because of you that I get to be a Mom to my Hope Triplets. This love that I get to experience with them is absolutely undeniable. It is the greatest feeling in the world and if you weren’t apart of my story, I would be missing out on a truly honorable role as their Mommy. It is because of you that two years ago I found myself lying on a doctor bed waiting for two precious and perfectly made embryos to be transferred to my womb.
Infertility, God used you in my life to make a platform for my story and reach the hearts of people walking the same pain I was in. And it is because of you that I have a greater understanding of what hope really is.
Infertility, I don’t hate you, not anymore. God makes beauty out of ashes. You were my ashes, but God made you beautiful. If it wasn’t for you-for the extreme heartache you caused me, the lies you told me, the grief you brought my heart over and over again- not only would I not be a Mom to my darling hope triplets, but I can now truly grasp on to how powerful and remarkable it means to have hope in Jesus Christ.
Hope anchors the soul. Hope does not disappoint. Hope is having faith for what seems impossible. It is trusting God when it feels hopeless. My journey to parenthood was nothing short of hope. God had every single detail orchestrated from the second He planted the seed of Motherhood in my heart. Infertility, today, when I really reflect on those years when you were apart of my life, I can only say, Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mama of Hope
Desiree and her husband have now been blessed with a set of triplets -two boys and one girl- Charlize, Sawyer, and Jax.
Speaking to PregnancyBeyond.com, the triplet mom said “I think this letter really captures the heartache of infertility-and the beauty of it, as well”
Thank you for sharing for sharing this raw open letter. Find more of Desiree and her family on Instagram
RELATED: I AM 36 WEEKS PREGNANT AND I HAVE TWO-MONTH-OLD TWINS
Join us over at the PB Moms Exclusive Circle, where we invite healthcare experts to prepare us for life after childbirth and motherhood. Go to: pregnancybeyond.com/exclusive-circle.
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]]>Eight or Nine Miscarriages
HEARTBREAKING: Gabrielle Union Reveals She’s Had Eight or Nine Miscarriages
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Gabrielle Union has opened up about her continued struggles with infertility in her new book We’re Going to Need More Wine.
Union, 44, who has been married to Dwyane Wade since April 2014 writes about her attempts at trying to conceive.
“I have had eight or nine miscarriages,” Union writes. “For three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant—I’ve either been about to go into an IVF cycle, in the middle of an IVF cycle, or coming out of an IVF cycle.”
While Union has previously spoken about her IVF journey, the Being Mary Jane actress has now opened up the heartbreaking details of her pregnancy struggles and how she has been dealing with the public pressure to conceive.
She goes on to say that while at first she wasn’t interested in having kids, her mind changed once she became a stepmom to Wade’s sons. And just like many women, she’s constantly asked whether or not she wants children:
“For so many women, and not just women in the spotlight, people feel very entitled to know, ‘Do you want kids?’ A lot of people, especially people that have fertility issues, just say ‘no’ because that’s a lot easier than being honest about whatever is actually going on. People mean so well, but they have no idea the harm or frustration it can cause.”
“Once a month I look like I’m in my second trimester because I’m bloated,” she continues in her book, explaining the side effects of IVF. “It leads to the questions and it leads to the rumors and anytime I go into a doctor’s office I feel like I’m a member of SEAL Team Six undercover because I don’t want people to speculate.”
Read more in Union’s book, We Are Going To Need More Wine out October 17 (Pre-Order Now)
Also Read: Pregnancy And Postpartum Depression
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]]>Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Success Story
Success Story: How I Have Managed Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).
In honor of PCOS Awareness Month and National Fertility Awareness Week (UK), Kemi Olowe who recently gave birth to a baby boy after a miscarriage (natural conception) and three rounds of IVF ; shares the story of how she got diagnosed with the syndrome at age 19 , and how she has been living with and managing the condition known as the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
We hope you find some encouragement and support from watching this vlog.
PART 1
In part 1 of the vlog, Kemi talks about the PCOS symptoms she is experiencing, how she got diagnosed, the impact of PCOS on a woman’s quality of life and how she went on to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
PART 2
In part 2 of the vlog, Kemi talks about the need to raise awareness on the effect of PCOS in the workplace and the provision of appropriate and non-judgmental support to employees; the importance of early diagnosis and intervention. She ended the vlog by giving a word of encouragement to PCOS warriors.
ALSO SEE: Top 6 Reasons To Call Your Doctor For Your Newborn
Find more of Kemi on her blog and on her Instagram account.
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]]>Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS): What You Should Know? By PCOS Awareness Association.
September is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) awareness month. On the blog today, the PCOS Awareness Association (PCOSAA) explains the significance of increasing awareness about this condition that affects one in five women of childbearing age.
The Importance of Raising Awareness About Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS is an endocrine disorder that is widely spread among women of all ages. In present days, there are over 10 million women that are diagnosed with PCOS, this number exceeding the numbers of all breast cancer, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis combined.
The statistics show what a high frequency this illness has, which makes raising awareness among women about PCOS and its symptoms more than necessary. Having in mind that September is the PCOS awareness month, the timing couldn’t be better to talk about this illness and how can it affect women, so that we can take better care of ourselves.
Let us start with the basis. What is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome? In spite of the fact that it is one of the most frequently met hormonal disorders among women, you won’t hear people talking about it too much. PCOS is not a medical topic that is too often debated, unlike other illnesses out there that don’t have the same incidence. PCOS is a hormonal imbalance in your body, causing uncomfortable symptoms both on the inside and outside of the body.
What is important to remember is that ovarian cysts may not be triggered by PCOS. There are cases in which the ovarian cysts have no connection with PCOS, being caused by something else. So cysts on the ovaries don’t mean you have PCOS. Although incurable, it is treatable.
There are ways to keep symptoms at bay and have a happier and pain-free life. Talking about symptoms, PCOS can produce a set of very uncomfortable symptoms, of which we can mention serious weight gain, loss of hair, feeling tired, depressed, suffer from panic attacks, headaches, dizzy spells, high levels of cholesterol, thyroid issues, sleeping problems, a constant feeling of thirst, cravings, mood swings, infertility, too much hair on the body and face, and others as well. If left untreated, polycystic ovarian syndrome can cause various severe diseases in time, such as cardiovascular diseases, type-II diabetes, hypertension, kidney problems, and even stroke.
ALSO SEE: Postpartum Infections and Pain | Treatment Tips
PCOS Awareness Association is fighting to raise awareness among women of all ages that they don’t have to suffer because of PCOS. This disorder can be kept under control and women that have it can lead a normal life. If you have any of the previously mentioned symptoms, don’t hesitate to ask for medical help and check to see if you have PCOS.
Our association can give you all the support you need to get the appropriate diagnosis, treatment, and aid in managing this condition with grace. Join our mission and let us help as many women as possible find out more about PCOS and ensure them that the condition is entirely treatable. No woman should suffer because of PCOS any longer.
Megan M Stewart
Founder of PCOS Awareness Association
www.pcosaa.org
The mission of the PCOSAA is to inform the public about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) by providing information and resources for women to get tested, as well as providing support for women diagnosed with PCOS. Find more of them on their website.
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