Confession: Up until I was 23 years old, I thought your “menstrual cycle” was your period. I had no idea my body was on a whole different biological rhythm that repeated itself every ~28 days and resulted in physical and mental shifts week over week.  But the craziest part is, so many women have found themselves in a similar boat. Most women don’t get to know their bodies on this level until they’re trying to have a baby. And even then, some women go through the process of having one or multiple children not knowing that...

Growing up and into my early twenties, when I pictured my future family, I always imagined that I would have at least two children. I myself am the oldest of four daughters. I daydreamed about the sibling life my kids would someday have, best friends through it all just as I was best friends with my sisters. I, like many people who want children, only ever envisioned a family with siblings. In my mid-twenties, my husband and I started trying to get pregnant. Nothing wild yet - I just went off my birth control pill. We...

It’s been more than a year since Roe v. Wade was overturned, with 20 states in the U.S. now either restricting or banning abortion outright. With women’s reproductive rights still slowly being chipped away in this country, misinformation and scare tactics pertaining to abortion continue to run rampant, especially when it comes to how this procedure affects fertility.  What’s important to remember when discussing abortion, is that both forms – medication and surgical – are not only safe, but surgical abortions are actually one of the safest medical procedures available when performed by a qualified provider. By comparison,...

Sasha Pieterse, an actress best known for her starring role in 'Pretty Little Liars', has been candid about her experience with PCOS. When the actress was just 17, she navigated some noticeable side effects of the condition — and she did so while very much existing in the public eye. Her story illustrates so many things about the experience of living with PCOS, especially when it comes to all the unknowns associated with the condition. Like so many people who live with PCOS, Pieterse struggled with the symptoms of the disease before securing a diagnosis. After...

Getting pregnant with our son was easy, so we thought number two would be a piece of cake. But this time, we weren’t as lucky. Secondary infertility leaves many couples with unanswered questions and no reason why it’s not working for them now.  What is secondary infertility? Couples experience secondary infertility when they cannot get pregnant or carry a baby to term after being pregnant or have no issues with their previous pregnancy.  “Secondary infertility is quite common,” says OB/GYN Dr. Staci Tanouye. It affects 8-12% of couples across the globe, which is about 4 million...

Let’s not beat around the bush: Period cramps are the worst. Just hearing the word “cramps” conjures up images of heating pads, over-the-counter pain medication, and lethargic afternoons on the couch. Unfortunately, these kinds of cramps are extremely common: About 80% of women will experience period pain at some point during their lifetime.  But menstruation isn’t always the cause of abdominal cramps. In fact, cramping can occur during the early stages of pregnancy, specifically during implantation. This is when a fertilized egg, also known as a blastocyst, nestles deep into the lining of the uterus. While...

Women and men are not biologically the same.  At this point, it’s probably clear to many of us that women are not small men. We are biologically different, meaning we have different needs and focal points when it comes to our health.  This is not to say one sex is better than the other, just different.  Why?  Women operate off of two biological rhythms: their circadian rhythm (24-hour cycle) and infradian rhythm (~28-day menstrual cycle). Meanwhile, men operate off their circadian rhythm only.  This means women’s hormones fluctuate week after week as they enter different stages...

After decades of facing down pregnancy speculation, plus criticism from the public for not having children, Jennifer Aniston revealed a painful part of her history last year. “I was trying to get pregnant. It was a challenging road for me, the baby-making road,” the A-lister told Allure in 2022. “All the years and years and years of speculation... It was really hard.” This candid admission was the first of its kind, but in 2016, Aniston penned a HuffPost essay on the public’s fascination with her reproductive life. “For the record, I am not pregnant,” she wrote....

As September ushers in the annual observance of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Awareness Month, more commonly known as PCOS, it's the perfect time to bust some myths and shed light on a topic that often perplexes those dealing with this condition: Ovulation.  PCOS is a hormonal disorder that affects 1 in 10 women of childbearing age, and it's marked by a range of symptoms including (but not limited to) irregular periods, weight gain, and hormonal imbalances. Among the most frequently asked questions about PCOS, one in particular stands out — especially for those who are trying to conceive: Can...

We’ve all been that person sitting in our OBGYN’s office and handed a 3-fold pamphlet that gives us endless birth control pill options to choose from — none of which have descriptions that make it any easier for us to know which one is right for our body.  Often we rely on friends, family, or Dr. Google to point us in the right direction, which can be helpful, but at the end of the day, everyone’s body and personal preferences are so different. The decision can be overwhelming, to say the least.  Aside from the birth...