If you’ve got PCOS, birth-control pills can control your menstrual pattern. These should be monophasic (combined) pills. But here’s the thing. Consider taking these as a prelude to trying for a pregnancy. Obviously you’ll need to stop taking them to initiate a cycle, but you may just get lucky and achieve a pregnancy in the following month. Of course, if you try IVF, you could be put on BCPs to control and time your bleed in advance of your FSH medication. BCPs and pregnancy? Opposites really do attract. PCOS sufferers who’ve tried medication, lost weight, improved their complexion and controlled excess body hair, and who still don’t fall pregnant, should consider IVF treatment. Your protocol and medication will take careful account of your PCOS and the increased risk of OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome). That might mean your embryos are frozen and transferred a couple of months later – a sensible OHSS-avoidance scheme. The thinking behind the IVF route is this. You’re producing poor-quality eggs. IVF creates more of them. The extra ones give the clinic more room to manoeuvre in terms of an increased chance of higher-grade eggs. IVF also limits the risk of multiple births associated with other fertility treatments (e.g. IUI and Clomid) aimed at PCOS patients.