Episode #16: PCOS During Pregnancy 

What you’ll learn in this episode

For some women with PCOS pregnancy improves their symptoms and hormone balance and they find staying healthy easier than normal for them. I hope this is you!!!! 

This wasn’t the case for me but I still loved being pregnant with each of my pregnancies 

The interesting thing about infertility, the inability to get pregnant, and the desire to be pregnant consume us in a way that we forget to think about then what! 

Once you finally get your positive pregnancy test, or several tests just to make sure you aren’t dreaming a new wave of emotions will begin! Excitement, a surreal feeling, and some nervous anxiety and concern that everything will go smoothly and that your baby will be born healthy! 

The good news is that most of the same recommendations I make for getting pregnant hold true for during pregnancy but in this episode, I will walk you through some considerations for each trimester to optimize your PCOS pregnancy health.

Preconception

In this phase, you are preparing your body and growing in health the best you can until you finally get your positive pregnancy test! 

Maybe you are working with an infertility specialist taking medications or undergoing procedures 

The goal here is to set yourself up for the best chance of success through nourishment, movement, mindset, and stress management. 

First and Second Trimester 

You are just finding out you are pregnant and it’s crazy how quickly we go from just wanting to get pregnant to wanting everything “right” so that we have a healthy baby. That is why in this section we cover everything from nutrition in the midst of cravings and food aversions, movement, supplements and so much more to help you have a healthy risk free pregnancy. 

Third Trimester 

Your baby is almost ready to be born but the more weeks you can carry him or her the easier their first few weeks/months of life will be. As common complications such as gestational diabetes, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and pre-eclampsia become more likely as you near the end of pregnancy so does the need for early delivery to keep mommy and baby healthy. 

Caring for your PCOS health with nutrition, movement, and lifestyle can be very helpful in slowing down or preventing these types of compilations. 

The Fourth Trimester (Post Partum) 

Once your bundle of joy is finally their life and your PCOS health continue to evolve and change as you take on this new adventure of motherhood. During this time nutrition continues to play a key role in your health to produce adequate milk for your baby, to help you recover, balance your mood and emotions as well as maintain your energy levels. 

Why a natural approach is so important 

As we go through each of these phases leading into, during, and after pregnancy, you will see what an important role a natural approach to managing PCOS has for both you and your baby’s health.

So do you have your listening ears ready? Click play and enjoy as you learn a few simple ways you can optimize your health throughout your pregnancy.

Here’s a glance at this episode…

[00:07]

The interesting thing about infertility, the inability to get pregnant and that desire to become pregnant consumes us in a way that we forget to think about what happens next, what happens once we get that positive pregnancy test?

[02:36]

I had to learn them from experience. I had to learn the hard way. And that led to a lot of research in preparation for baby number two and three. But throughout this episode, I want to remind you that knowledge is power. We do our best until we know better and then we can do better.

[05:00]

Because at that moment the situation has changed. We’re no longer trying to promote ovulation, we’re no longer trying to promote pregnancy happening, we are trying to sustain a healthy pregnancy.

[06:07]

I strongly encourage you to contact the OB-GYN that you want to go to ahead of time. It can be difficult to get into your first-trimester appointment, especially as a new patient.

[07:15]

Not everyone needs it, but hopefully, they [your ob-gyn] have tested your progesterone or they have records of your recent progesterone labs on file. That way they can decide if that might be an issue for you.

[16:50]

As you get to third trimester, it starts to get really exciting because you’re finally in that home stretch. But this is also where you may start having the potential risk of complications. And your doctor is going to monitor you even more closely.

Resources & References Mentioned in this episode

Take the PCOS Root cause quiz to learn what your body needs to heal

Get started eating to nourish with the PCOS Fertility Meal Plan 

References:

Pregnancy complications in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Obesity, and Pregnancy

Pregnancy outcomes in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome

Results are not guaranteed. Please see Medical Disclaimer for more detail.

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