Approximately 11% of women in the United States who are in their reproductive years face fertility issues. Many challenges can lead to infertility in women. Ovarian cysts can cause infertility, but it isn’t at the head of the list.
If you’re struggling to build a family and you’re worried that ovarian cysts may be to blame, Dr. Christopher Serrano and the team here at Serrano OBGyn, want to shed some light on this common condition.
When you ovulate, the egg is housed in a follicle on your ovary. If this follicle doesn’t break open properly and release the egg, it can lead to a cyst. Follicle cysts are the most common type of ovarian cysts, and they usually clear up without you ever being the wiser.
Another common way an ovarian cyst forms is after the follicle releases your egg, and the remaining sac seals up and fills with fluid. Called corpus luteum cysts, they are mostly harmless and resolve themselves on their own.
When ovarian cysts become problematic, it’s usually because they grow in size, which can lead to pelvic pain. Worse, a large cyst can twist around your ovary, causing sudden pain and nausea. This is a medical emergency and, fortunately, one that isn’t very common.
What we’re trying to get at is that these common ovarian cysts don’t typically affect your fertility.
The one issue in which ovarian cysts are connected to your fertility is if you have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which affects about 1 in 10 women of childbearing age.
With PCOS, the cysts are a side effect but not the culprit behind infertility. The infertility that accompanies PCOS is due to a hormonal imbalance that can lead to poor egg quality or lack of egg release. Therefore, PCOS is one of the leading causes of infertility in women.
If we diagnose you with PCOS, rest assured that we can work with you on rebalancing your hormones to encourage fertility.
Outside of PCOS, it’s rare that an ovarian cyst can interfere with your ability to conceive. If you have a large ovarian cyst, it might be problematic for your pregnancy, but we can remove it using advanced robotic surgical technology.
So, if you were worried about ovarian cysts affecting your fertility, and you don’t have PCOS, the odds are that there’s something else affecting it. The best way to figure out what's behind your fertility issues is to come to see us for a full evaluation.
To schedule a consultation, or for more information on ovarian cysts, call our office in San Antonio, Texas, at 210-761-5308 or book an appointment online today.
