A 16-year-old girl walked into my office today, trying to come to terms with what she believes is fact:
“That she’ll never be a mom.”
Why? Because she’s been diagnosed with PCOS.
Let me be clear: That is not the truth.
PCOS is not a life sentence. And it is certainly not a guarantee of infertility.
Here’s what I wish every teenage girl knew about PCOS:
First, it’s a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning doctors land on it when they’ve HOPEFULLY ruled out other causes. It’s not a clearly defined disease, it’s a syndrome—a cluster of symptoms. And a “syndrome” is really just a word we use when we don’t fully understand what’s going on. But the truth is… we actually do.
PCOS is a collection of imbalances—blood sugar dysregulation, inflammation, stress load, and sometimes underlying hormonal miscommunication. Address those root issues, and guess what? The “diagnosis” begins to unravel. Cycles return. Ovulation resumes. Hormones balance.
A diagnosis like this at 16 should never be delivered as a finality. This is a time for curiosity, not conclusions.
She’s not broken.
She’s not barren.
She’s just out of balance.
And the beautiful thing about balance? It can be restored.
If you’re a young woman who’s been told your body is “broken” or that birth control is your only option, please know: you deserve better than a band-aid. You deserve to understand your body. Your cycle is a vital sign—it tells you what’s going on inside. Start tracking it. Get curious. Learn its patterns, its shifts, its signs. And most importantly, find a practitioner who listens, who knows how to work with your body, not just suppress its symptoms. There are real, effective ways to support your hormones and bring your cycle back into balance—without shutting it down. You have so much more power and potential than you’ve been told. Don’t settle for silence. Get informed, get supported, and reclaim your rhythm.
