A diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome (or PCOS) can feel scary and overwhelming, particularly if you’re concerned about how PCOS will affect your reproductive future. There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the diagnosis, as there are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to conditions like PCOS. While there’s a consensus that the condition can lead to infertility, there’s no singular course of treatment or plan of action for those affected by PCOS. That’s because even though PCOS is very common — according to the Cleveland Clinic, it affects up to 15 percent of women...

We know that our fertility relies on so much more than just the health of our reproductive organs. Our bodies are complex systems in which individual parts rarely work on their own. For instance, gut health can have monumental effects on different body parts and functions.  In fact, the gut’s microbiome has various effects on the intestines, which influence distant organs and pathways. According to the National Library of Medicine, the microbiota even affects the reproductive endocrine system by interacting with a woman’s estrogen levels, androgens, insulin, and other hormones.  An imbalance in the gut’s microbiome...

In the realm of fertility and the pursuit of building a family, the journey can often be filled with twists and turns. However, amidst the search for effective solutions, a newfound ally has emerged, offering renewed hope to those seeking to conceive: Dehydroepiandrosterone, also known as DHEA.  What is DHEA?  DHEA, short for dehydroepiandrosterone, is a precursor hormone that’s naturally produced by your adrenal glands. A precursor hormone serves as the building blocks for other, specific hormones —  in this case, estrogen and testosterone.  DHEA is considered an androgen, a class of hormones that are primarily...

One night at dinner, a conversation came up with my 13-year-old son that reminded me of a moment I had when I was just a little younger than he is now.  I was almost 11 — one of the oldest in my 5th-grade class — and I was your typical New England preppy: plaid skirts, boat shoes, chunky fall sweaters, and heavy straight-across bangs that always seemed to have a cowlick in the front just above my right eyebrow. I had gone into school believing it was a regular day until my class was split into...

FSH: Many of us know of it as it relates to a menstrual cycle, but what role does it play, exactly? Follicle-stimulating hormone, or FSH, is produced by the pituitary gland in the brain and not only initiates follicular recruitment during the menstrual cycle, but also promotes follicular growth, or ovarian stimulation, leading up to the releasing of an egg by the ovaries during ovulation.  In a typical fertility workup, FSH is one of the hormones evaluated to help determine a woman’s ovarian reserve or the number of eggs remaining in the ovaries.  To better break...

Sponsored by Organon. Visit fertilityjourney.com to learn more.  Photo of author and infertility patient, Jenny Cooke Malstrom. Jenny Cooke Malstrom is a licensed marriage and family therapist, infertility patient, and reproductive mental health advocate. Her online therapy practice, Sea Change Therapy, serves people in Washington and Florida. She has spent the past decade navigating infertility both personally and professionally, including: primary infertility, in vitro fertilization (IVF), miscarriage, endometriosis, secondary infertility, and recurrent pregnancy loss. She loves spending time by the water with her husband, their IVF son, and mini-Aussie puppy. This article is written from Jenny’s point of view...