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Do you know what the leading cause of infertility in the United States is? Once it was unheard of, but now it’s becoming a household phrase: polycystic ovary syndrome. The name is exactly how it sounds, an ovary with several (poly) cysts. This hormonal condition affects millions of women of childbearing age in the United States, roughly 1 in 5, and numbers are increasing every year (Azziz et al, 2016). So far there is no known cure, but there are some medications to manage the symptoms. The problems being faced with this condition is that there is no known cure, it’s affecting the quality of life of women around the world, and it’s impacting fertility and birth rates for many of these women.
What an amazing read! Jenna based her STEAM project off of one of the leading causes of infertility in the U.S., Polycystic Ovary syndrome (PCOS).This is a condition that affects millions of women of childbering age; roughly 1 in 5 with the numbers increasing every year. Jenna’s representation of what this condition is spot on! In her images you can see the clay formation of a uterus with the ovaries having yellow lumps indicating the cysts. According to Jenna’s research, unfortunately there is no known cure, but there are some medications to manage the symptoms.
While there is no known cure, there is also no known cause for PCOS. Some have theorized that PCOS is passed down through generations and you are more likely to have it if your mother or sister had it. Another theory is environmental factors, like consuming a lot of highly processed foods. The symptoms that follow polycystic ovary syndrome are infertility, weight gain, excessive body hair, and miscarriages. These symptoms are due to, too many cysts for an egg to fertilize, excess androgens and irregular menstrual cycles, and low levels of estrogen causing improper fetal development.
I really appreciated how Jenna finishes her essay by sharing experiences of women she has seen with this condition. She finishes by stating, “It can be extremely frustrating having trouble conceiving when you’re ready for a child, along with dealing with all the self-esteem issues that come as a result of some of the symptoms that present with PCOS.”