| POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME (PCOS) Celebrity sufferers: Victoria Beckham, Jools Oliver, Emma Thompson Posh, 30, blamed PCOS for problems conceiving before she had Brooklyn, five. But her condition doesn't seem to have affected her getting pregnant since. Romeo is now two, and she is expecting her third baby in March. Jools Oliver, 28, took a fertility drug because of PCOS before conceiving Poppy, 22 months, but didn't need help with Daisy, 10 weeks. Actress Emma Thompson, 45, has a five-year-old daughter, Gaia. She needed IVF because of PCOS and conceived on the first attempt, but subsequent attempts have failed. What is it? PCOS is a hormone disorder resulting in cysts around the ovaries that affect fertility. One in 10 British women has it. Symptoms include irregular periods, excess facial and body hair, acne, hair loss and rapid weight gain. What you can do Lose weight - women with PCOS have excess testosterone. Losing weight helps to lower the level of insulin in the body, which reduces the ovaries' production of testosterone. What your doctor can do Give you hormone treatments - they control the symptoms but aren't a cure. Give you the fertility drug Clomiphene - this brings on ovulation. IVF - a final resort if all else fails. __________ ECTOPIC Celebrity sufferers: Sophie Wessex, Anna Walker Prince Edward's wife Sophie, 39, had an ectopic pregnancy when she was 36. Doctors removed the embryo from a fallopian tube after she doubled up with abdominal pain. Sophie got pregnant again 18 months later. Her daughter, Louise, was born five weeks prematurely in November 2003. TV presenter Anna Walker, 42, suffered three ectopic pregnancies and two miscarriages in six years. Thanks to IVF, she now has a son Sean, three, and one-year-old twins India and Amber. What is it? One in 100 pregnancies is ectopic. It happens when the embryo implants itself outside the womb, usually in the fallopian tube. Often the embryo perishes, but sometimes it stretches and bursts the tube wall, causing crippling pain and haemorrhaging. If you've had one ectopic pregnancy you are at greater risk of having another. What you can do Stop taking the Pill - hormones used in contraceptives can affect the movement of the egg. Have a break before trying for a baby. What your doctor can do Tests - about half of all ectopic pregnancies are estimated to be due to the increase in STIs such as chlamydia. Women who have been affected by pelvic inflammatory disease or endometriosis are also at higher risk. __________ UNEXPLAINED INFERTILTY Celebrity sufferers: Alex Kingston, Sophie Gare ER star Alex, 41, tried for seven years to conceive her son, Salome, three. Doctors could find no medical explanation for why it took so long. She tried artificial insemination using her husband's sperm and consulted a fertility psychologist before conceiving on her second IVF attempt. Ben Elton's wife Sophie Gare tried for more than five years to conceive. Doctors could find nothing wrong so she had IVF. It worked third time round, producing twins Charlotte and Albert, now five. A year later Sophie fell pregnant naturally with Fred, three. What is it? One in every six couples has trouble conceiving naturally. Around 10 per cent of those will receive the diagnosis "unexplained infertility". Couples are usually advised to wait two years before acting. What you can do Start early - women under 30 take an average three months to fall pregnant naturally. From 30 to 35 it may take six months, and from 35 onwards it takes up to a year as fertilty reduces. Check your weight - you need a healthy body mass index of less than 29. To calculate your BMI, divide your weight in kilos by your height in metres squared. Eat meat and fish - around a fifth of your diet should be protein if you want to conceive. Stop smoking - female smokers are almost 30 per cent less fertile than non-smokers, and three times more likely to take longer than 12 months to get pregnant. Stop partying - drinking more than one or two units of alcohol a week reduces fertility. Cut your workload - women with raised stress hormones are 40 per cent more likely to conceive once they give up or scale down work. Try yoga in the meantime to reduce stress. Go back to basics - environmental pollution and hormone-disrupting chemicals found in processed, non-organic foods can harm fertility. Get fresh air and eat organic. What your doctor can do Arrange an STI check-up - the sexually-transmitted infection chlamydia affects one in 10 women aged 16 to 25 and causes infertility. Arrange to have tests - usually two years after you've started trying.and get your partner to have tests too - he's just as likely to have problems. __________ ENDOMETRIOSIS Celebrity sufferers: Louise Redknapp, Anna Friel Singer Louise, 30, feared she would never have children after being diagnosed with endometriosis. She had been trying to conceive for two years but only went to the doctor when she suffered excruciating back pain during her period. She had two sessions of laser surgery. She is now mum to Charlie, six months. Anna Friel, 28, discovered she had endometriosis when she had a ruptured ovarian cyst. She was told to get pregnant before 30 and is expecting her first child in July. What is it? Endometriosis affects around two million British women - up to a quarter of women of reproductive age. It causes the natural tissue that normally lines the womb to break away and grow in places like the pelvis and around the ovaries. The build-up of cells triggers pain and bleeding and can block the fallopian tubes, causing infertility. Painful periods, backache and pain during sex are symptoms. What you can do Cut out red meat - a study has found that women who eat a diet rich in red meat could be doubling their risk of endometriosis. Eat fresh fruit and green veg - research shows high consumption of these lowers the risk of endometriosis by up to 40 per cent. Have kids before you're 30 - if you're younger, less damage is likely to have been done to your reproductive organs. What your doctor can do Prescribe the combined Pill - it can help stop endometrial growths forming. Laser surgery - it can shrink growths to preserve or help restore fertility. __________ PRE-ECLAMPSIA Celebrity sufferer: Sophie Ellis Bextor Singer Sophie, 25, had an emergency Caesarean two months prematurely to deliver her first child, Sonny, last April. What is it? A potentially life-threatening condition, caused by a defect in the placenta that produces dangerously high blood pressure. It affects one in 10 pregnancies mildly and one in 100 severely, and doctors are uncertain why it happens. It usually develops after six months, causing protein in the urine, swelling of hands and feet, headaches and vision problems. If left untreated, the mother can have fits and the baby is starved of food and oxygen. If you've had it before or suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease or migraine, are over 35 or carrying twins or triplets, you are at higher risk. What you can do Attend regular appointments - routine urine and blood pressure checks can detect it. Talk to your midwife - if you already have swelling you may need treatment at once. What your doctor can do Prescribe drugs - in mild cases they can control blood pressure. You'll be monitored. Order a caesarean - in severe cases it's the only solution to save both mum and baby. __________ MISCARRIAGE Celebrity sufferers: Kacey Ainsworth, Fiona Phillips, Caroline Quentin EastEnders star Kacey, 35, miscarried her first child at almost 16 weeks. A routine scan showed the baby's heartbeat was too slow and doctors later discovered the heart was growing outside the baby's body. But she went on to have Blossom, who is now nine months old. GMTV presenter and Mirror columnist Fiona, 44, suffered a miscarriage when she was nine weeks pregnant in 2000. She now has Nathaniel, five, and Mackenzie, two. Actress Caroline, 44, suffered two unexplained miscarriages in between having her daughter Emily, four, and son William, one. What is it? Losing a baby before 24 weeks. In most cases it's very difficult to know the exact cause, but it's often genetic abnormalities or a simple failure of the embryo to implant. What you can do Start early - the chances of suffering a miscarriage double when you are over 35. Be in optimum health - improve your diet, exercise, reduce stress and stop smoking. Be vigilant - signs to look out for are blood loss of any kind, cramping pains and backache. What your doctor can do Tests - if you have suffered three miscarriages in a row you should be offered tests to see if there is a specific reason. After a miscarriage - you might be given a D&C evacuation to reduce risk of infection and stop bleeding. Counselling - it can help you recover. | 
