Information about hormonal birth control, what type you should switch to, horror stories with IUD placement, and personal anecdotes about the pill making patients anxious seem to come from everywhere except your doctor’s office. The hashtag #depressedonbirthcontrol on TikTok has over 46 million views, with commentary from many people who are not medical professionals.  Even on the scientific side of things, there is conflicting information about how hormonal contraception affects the brain. Some studies seem to support that taking birth control may contribute to mood changes, anxiety, or depressive symptoms, while other studies haven’t been able...

Stress is a sneaky visitor that can show up uninvited and mess with your body's plans. Although it’s completely normal, stress can affect your period and potentially make it harder for you to become a parent.  In this article, we'll explore the connection stress has to menstrual health and fertility and share some helpful ways you can lower your stress levels and enhance your overall well-being. Understanding stress and its health effects If you’re a living and breathing human, you’ve likely experienced some stress in your lifetime.  Stress is unique to each of us, and today,...

When it comes to fertility, we’ve heard about a lot of lifestyle interventions that could potentially help someone get pregnant. For people with PCOS — a disorder that can’t be cured, but can be managed — there’s even more information to consider. Some say the Mediterranean diet can boost fertility, while others swear by acupuncture, and others still believe that anti-inflammatory is the way to go. It’s all enough to make your head spin. If you’re trying to conceive, you already have enough to think about. If you’re trying to conceive while also navigating PCOS, you...

Everyone wants to smell good and have their home mirror that. That’s a modern universal truth.  But what if it came at a negative cost to your hormone health? Most of us don’t think twice when we give ourselves a little spritz to freshen up, buy scented shampoo or skin care products, light a candle, or spray our living room before having guests over, but it may be time to rethink that.  What's the issue with fragrance? Turns out, the fragrance industry is completely unregulated.  Meaning, that manufacturers don’t have to disclose what’s in their fragrance...

So, your OB/GYN or fertility doctor has recommended a hysteroscopy — now what? More importantly, what exactly is a hysteroscopy?  A hysteroscopy is a versatile procedure used in gynecologic practice. It can determine a variety of diagnoses, as well as serve as treatment. Specifically, operative hysteroscopy can treat instances of intrauterine pathology like endometrial polyps or fibroids.  What happens during a hysteroscopy? The procedure itself consists of looking directly inside the uterus with a tool called a hysteroscope — a thin, lighted telescope-like tube your provider inserts through the vagina and cervix. During the process, explains...

The journey to building a family can be an emotionally and financially taxing one. Fertility treatments and procedures, while offering hope to many, can also pose a significant financial burden. Recognizing this, many employers are now providing fertility coverage as part of their employee benefits packages. This not only helps alleviate some of the financial stress for independent parents, but it also fosters a more diverse and inclusive workplace regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or single or partnered status. Sounds like a win-win, right? Well, not all companies have caught on yet. If that describes where...

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...