Hormonal imbalance is one the common health issues now-a-days. Since, hormones have a lot to do with our reproductive systems, any minute imbalance causes various fertility issues. To blame it, lifestyle and food habits play a major role in affecting the hormonal balance of the body. In this article we will uncover, which hormones affect fertility? how hormonal imbalance affect fertility in women? What causes hormonal imbalance? Sign & symptoms of hormonal imbalance? And how to naturally treat hormonal imbalance naturally?

What Is Hormone?

1. Hormones are created by endocrine system glands and later sent into the bloodstream to different tissues in the body.
2. Hormones send signals to those tissues to tell them what they should do. Hormones are basically the messengers- controlling and regulating the internal environment of the body.
3. If your endocrine system makes too much or too little of a hormone, you develop a hormonal imbalance.
4. There are different types of hormones in our body, having different functions to perform. However, in this article we will be focussing only on hormones that affect fertility.
5. It’s natural for hormones to constantly fluctuate from puberty to menopause. However, when a woman is past 40 years of age, the hormones level start to decline and eventually leads to menopause at around 50+ years of age.

Which Hormones Affect Female Fertility?

Other than sex hormones- estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, there are other hormones as well that have significant affect on female fertility. Let’s understand them all –

Estrogen

1. • A hormone that influences the ability to release an egg each cycle. This hormone controls the timing of menstrual cycle.

2. Progesterone

   • Progesterone is essential to maintaining the pregnancy and it aids the uterus build a nourishing lining for a potential baby in turn helps support an embryo and also regulates your mood.

3. Testosterone

   • Although testosterone levels are significantly higher in men than women, testosterone plays an important role in hormone regulation in women.

4. Thyroid hormones

   • There are various hormones produced by the thyroid, but T3-triiodothyronine and T4-thyroxine hormone primarily impact metabolic rate, digestion, energy production, mood and weight management.

5. Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH)

   • AMH is a hormone produced by the ovaries in females which contain immature eggs. Its key function is to support the immature eggs. AMH Level describes the ability of a woman’s ovary to produce eggs that can be fertilized for pregnancy

6. Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)

   • FSH is directly linked to your fertility and its primary function is to help regulate the menstrual cycle & induce the production of eggs.

7. Luteinizing Hormone (LH)

   • LH signals the body to release a mature egg from the ovaries. Luteinizing hormone levels generally surge immediately prior to ovulation.
     

     Prolactin

     • Prolactin hormone is critical to the production of breast milk, and plays a major role in becoming pregnant.

How Hormonal Imbalance Affect Fertility In Women?

1. What is estrogen?

Estrogens are a group of hormones that play an important role in the normal sexual and reproductive development in women. They are also sex hormones. The woman’s ovaries make most estrogen hormones, although the adrenal glands and fat cells also make small amounts of the hormones.

If estrogen levels are high then-

• There might be presence of fibroids or endometrial lesions that do not support embryo implantation
• It interferes in the function of the ovaries, fallopian tubes and lead to greater pelvic inflammation.
• There is increased oxidative damage that affects egg quality, by damaging the DNA within the egg.

If estrogen levels are low then-

• In the follicular phase, it could indicate that the follicle isn’t growing properly.
• Low estrogen prevents increase in LH levels that causes ovulation.

2. Progesterone

Progesterone is in a class of medications called progestins (female hormones). It works as part of hormone replacement therapy by decreasing the amount of estrogen in the uterus. It works to bring on menstruation by replacing the natural progesterone that some women are missing

If progesterone levels are low

• Mid-cycle spotting
• Irregular cycles

If progesterone levels are High

• Bloating
• Brain fog
• Breast swelling and tenderness
• Constipation
• Fatigue
• Low mood or depression
• Sleep disturbances
• Weeping or easy to cry

Read this to know what is the right level of progesterone during or before pregnancy

3. Thyroid hormones

• Low levels of thyroid hormones can lead to anovulatory cycles, which imply that ovulation is disturbed and the ovaries are not able to release the egg.
• Another implication of hypothyroidism is that it can lead to luteal phase problems, which could cause an early miscarriage

4. Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH)

• Women suffering from Low AMH finds it difficult to conceive due to low egg reserve.
• Whereas, High AMH usually indicates PCOS, which again makes conception difficult unless treated.

5. Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)

• High FSH levels mostly leads to ovarian dysfunction.

6. Luteinizing Hormone (LH)

• Low levels of LH can prevent ovulation from taking place.
• High levels of LH during the wrong time of your cycle can also contribute to infertility as it interferes with menstruation and ovulation.

7. Prolactin

• If a woman’s prolactin levels are abnormal, they will likely experience cycle irregularity, in turn cause ovulation issues and ultimately with conception.

What Causes Hormonal Imbalance?

The major reasons for hormonal imbalances in women are due to-

1. Stress
2. Unhealthy diet
3. Diabetes
4. Sleeping issues
5. Thyroid imbalance
6. Prolonged use of birth control pills
7. Lack of exercise

Common Signs & Symptoms Of Hormonal Imbalance

Sign & symptoms may vary from individual to individual, where few women might have moderate to severe symptoms and few might have mild to no symptoms at all. Discussing the same with your fertility specialist will help you treat your situation at the earliest.

Some common signs of hormonal imbalance are-

1. Irregularity in menstrual cycles
2. Irregular bleeding or spotting
3. Acne
4. Unwanted facial & body hair growth
5. Male-pattern hair loss
6. Unexplained weight gain
7. Mood swings
8. Low sex drive
9. Infertility
10. Insomnia
11. Bloating

How To Naturally Treat Hormonal Imbalance To Get Pregnant?

We at McureFertility , practice holistic management approach to treat hormonal imbalance. By now, you know that hormonal imbalance is majorly due to unhealthy lifestyle and hence, treating it naturally with certain lifestyle changes is totally possible.

Symptoms of disrupted hormones

Fatigue, increased sensitivity to cold and hot, changes in bowel movements, dry skin, a puffy face, weight changes, urinary incontinence, brain fog and even memory loss can be symptoms of imbalanced hormones.

Dysregulated cortisol or insulin (or both) may be implicated if you have trouble falling asleep or sleeping through the night, if you struggle to get out of bed even after seven to nine hours of sleep and you need caffeine just to get going in the morning.

Excessive energy crashes and ‘hanger’ can also suggest imbalance.

Causes of hormonal imbalance

Many factors (both internal and external) can throw hormone balance off, including weight loss or gain, stress, injury, medications, chemical exposures and tumors.

Medical conditions such as diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), thyroid problems, as well as Addison’s disease and Cushing syndrome (high levels of cortisol) are linked to hormone imbalance.

But in most people it’s more likely to be stress, thyroid issues, some nutritional deficiencies, poor eating habits, being under or overweight, eating disorders, hormonal birth control, drug abuse, infections, allergies, autoimmune disorders and exposure to toxins, pollutants and pesticides.

In other words, many things that we have some control over.

How common are imbalances?

Our bodies have an amazing internal regulating system called homeostasis. The theory goes that if you leave the body alone it will harmonize to it’s own best rhythm.

That’s not the case for all of us though, thanks in part to some genetic or physiological conditions – and because of the increased environmental toxin load we’re all living with in our modern, busy, post-industrial lives.

Many of us knowingly or unknowingly suffer with imbalances: a survey of 2,000 American women, aged 30 to 60, also found that nearly half have experienced symptoms of a hormonal imbalance.

One of the most common hormone imbalances that can cause fertility issues is polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS. It affects at least 1 in 10 of us – maybe 1 in 5 by some measures.

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