PCOS, or polycystic ovarian syndrome, affects 1 in 10 women worldwide, and 15–20% of women in their childbearing years in South Africa. Even more, it can account for up to 35–40% of the female factor causes of infertility, according to the South African Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
PCOS is caused by an imbalance of reproductive hormones (more specifically, androgens), which causes a long list of symptoms that are often misdiagnosed, ignored or go unnoticed. The main features are cysts that form in the ovaries, high levels of test or one and irregular periods. This causes a lack of ovulation, which means that many women struggle to get pregnant. However, the root cause is partially unknown, and doctors have only been able to attribute the spike of androgen to genes, insulin resistance
THE SYMPTOMS, EXPLAINED
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