When the desire to get pregnant arises, we women do everything within our reach, including taking ovulation inducers even without medical guidance1. Unfortunately, this practice has become more and more frequent and the trivialization of this type of medication is a major risk to women’s fertility. However, fortunately regarding ovulation inducers, information about them and the problems they can cause in a woman’s body has been appearing more and more.
Important: When it comes to hormonal treatment, all care is necessary, so here we always advise, in any situation, to only take this type of oral induction if prescribed by a doctor.
The inducers we are talking about are those bought at pharmacies and taken orally, such as clomiphene. Despite the risks, the ovulation inducer is quite effective for people who need a little pharmacological help to achieve the dream of becoming a mother. Women who are proven not to ovulate, or who have some type of problem or problems getting pregnant. However, women who are going to be treated with this type of medication should be monitored, to avoid the risk of some kind of problem caused by excessive hormonal intake. What are these problems?
Endometrial Impairment
The endometrium is fundamental for pregnancy to occur. For those who do not know what it is, here is a brief explanation: it is the layer where the fertilized egg implants, and then, pregnancy can happen. There is no pregnancy without this implantation because, with it, the baby will start receiving all the nutrients through the blood. However, from implantation onwards, the HCG hormone begins to be produced to maintain the pregnancy, and the blood-rich layer (endometrium) needs to have the ideal thickness, usually above 8mm2.
However, the ovulation inducer can harm this stage! How? The hormones it contains can make your endometrium thin, so thin that the baby will not be able to implant properly. It is possible that during a cycle with inducers, the endometrium does not exceed 4mm, which is half the minimum thickness needed for a healthy pregnancy to happen and progress without problems.
Ovarian Hyperstimulation
Since it is an ovulation inducer, the medication can act excessively in the body. It is common for a woman to mature more than one egg, but it is also frequent to have several follicles, resulting in ovarian hyperstimulation. This hyperstimulation causes a lot of pain, to the point that the woman cannot sit, walk, or live normally. It is possible that the ovulation inducer causes so much stimulation that it practically triples the size of the ovaries and, in rare cases, can partially or completely rupture the ovary. In this case, the woman may lose her ovary and impair her fertility.
Women with hyperstimulation caused by ovulation inducers should not have intercourse, as they risk a multiple pregnancy (2, 3, 4, 5 babies), thus resulting in a high-risk pregnancy.
Nonviable Pregnancy
Can the ovulation inducer result in pregnancy? Yes! But it can also result in pregnancies that are nonviable and will not make it to the end of the pregnancy. The baby may result from poor quality ovulation, which, as a consequence, will have developmental problems. Miscarriage in these cases will occur naturally or may be retained. The ovulation inducer can also result in a blighted ovum pregnancy, that is, where only the gestational sac forms, without an embryo, the baby.
It is also possible that the ovulation inducer causes a tubal or ectopic pregnancy, which is when the baby implants in the wrong place, in the tube. This problem is more common than you think, even without the use of inducers, and using them without medical prescription further increases the risks. The woman may lose her tube and take even longer to get pregnant3.
Cyst Occurrence
Cysts are not always bad; in a normal cycle, we can have functional cysts, ovulation cysts that may result in pregnancy. The medication based on clomiphene helps stimulate ovarian cysts (follicles) to aid conception. However, the ovulation inducer can also cause cysts that are not suitable for getting pregnant, the so-called high-risk cysts. High-risk cysts are clusters of ovarian tissue together with scarring that will hinder the development of follicles4. These cysts can become so harmful to health that a woman may begin to feel constant pain. It is also possible for cysts to become hemorrhagic, meaning a blood-filled bubble larger than the ovary itself.
The problem with using ovulation inducers is simply estimating likely fertile days and not having intercourse on the right days. Taking risks by using an inducer without knowing if it is working is not ideal. That is why it is recommended to use ovulation tests to help identify the most fertile day. It is advisable to take the ovulation test on the 8th day after starting the medication and keep testing until the test line becomes faint again, showing that ovulation has already passed.
All the problems mentioned here as a result of ovulation inducer use are treatable, but they may vary from person to person. The best thing is always to follow the guidance of a professional, who will monitor you during the course of treatment. Health is serious, and fertility health is even more so!
See also: What Are the Difficulties in Getting Pregnant with One Fallopian Tube?
