kateandlisaEvery year thousands of teen girls have irregular menstrual cycles. Today 1 in 10 women have PCOS – with PCOS often starting in the teen years. Teens may also 
experience ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, sexually transmitted diseases, yeast infections and much more. So what are some healthy choices for teen health?
Important Steps for Healthy Fertility in Your Teen Years
The tips below will help guide you to making smarter choices prior the beginning of any natural remedies, therapies or supplements.
1, Get to Know, trust and love your body!
Learn about how both the female and male reproductive system function. This will help you to understand what is going on daily and monthly in your body. Remember – KNOWLEDGE IS POWER! You know your body the best! Get to know all of your female parts, be able to identify them properly. Don’t be afraid of your own body. Listen to your body. If you feel something may not be quite right with your menstrual cycle, or if you are feeling any sort of pain in that area, talk to someone about it. Love your body the way it is; for all it does for you!
2. Clear communication is key.
Do you have questions regarding your body or menstrual cycle? Do you think something may be wrong regarding your fertility? What is normal? If you haven’t talked to your parents, or an adult that is close to you, or if you are a parent, it is important to have communication with your teen. Find someone to help support you through the search for answers in regard to your menstrual health. There are adults that can help guide you, give you confidence and a safe place to talk openly. There is no shame in desiring to find answers about your own body.
3. have the courage to ask for help
Once you have someone to talk to, be open, have confidence to ask questions. How else will you get the answers you need if you suffer in silence? Let the person you wish to discuss the issues with know what the problem is. If you are sexually active, be sure to to be open and honest with them about that part of your life as well. Once you are sexually active, you have more responsibility in taking care of and protecting your fertility and menstrual health.
4. Find a healthcare practitioner that you are comfortable with and fits your needs.
Have an adult help you! If you are interested in natural, holistic healing methods, you will need to search for someone trained in those methods. 
You may first need to see an ObGyn (Obstetrician/Gynecologist) to get regular pap smears/check-ups and to diagnose fertility problems. Your family doctor may also be helpful in diagnosing a fertility problem as well.
In the teen years your body is experiencing rapid hormonal changes, body growth and development. This time of great changes is different for each person. Every person develops at a different rate. Each year may be vastly different from the last.
5. diet, exercise and sleep changes make a big difference!
Teens often have poor dietary and sleep habits. If you are not in sports, you may be sedentary much of the time, balancing sitting class with video games, etc.
- Be sure you are eating a whole food nutrient dense diet. Avoid foods like soda, candy, chips, processed foods, etc. Avoid foods that mimic estrogen in the body: processed soy foods, non-organic foods, especially non-organic meats. An overabundance of xenoestrogens in our foods and environment have been linked to causing teen girls to begin puberty at a much younger age. Xenoestrogen overload may contribute to hormonal imbalance, especially estrogen dominant conditions such as ovarian cysts, PCOS, endometriosis and uterine fibroids. Contact us for more info and help with any of these. We can answer questions and guide you on food choices and help sort out if you indeed have any of these issues.
- Talk to your parents about helping you find a high quality whole food multivitamin to support your developing body. Garden of Life or MegaFood Alpha Teen are good as they are 100% whole food. A whole food multivitamin will help you to get necessary nutrients each day. Inadequate nutrition is one of the leading causes of amenorrhea (absent period).
- Be sure you are active. Be sure you are getting in enjoyable activities that up your heart rate and promote sweating. 30 minutes a day, 5 times a week is best.
- Teens need more sleep than adults. Be sure you are getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Lack of sleep is stressful for the body, which may contribute to menstrual cycle irregularities.
6. educate yourself on pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (std’s). do you know how they can impact your fertility and health?
Once you become sexually active, it is vital to know the risk of possible teen pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted disease Get to know your options. I urge all teens women to learn how each kind of birth control methods works, how it may impact your fertility and what you can do to support healthy fertility naturally. It is important to protect yourself from unwanted pregnancy as well. Birth control choices may be difficult to navigate, that is why it is important to have a trusted adult to help you. We can help with providing birth control options and choices as well as educating you about your menstrual cycle so you can make educated decisions that are best for you now and for your future menstrual and fertile health.
Do you know that some STD’s can lead to infertility? Be sure you are using condoms as condoms prevent STD’s. For example, the STD chlamydia, if left untreated may lead to blocked fallopian tubes. If you fallopian tubes are blocked, the egg cannot travel to the uterus for implantation. You may not be able to get pregnant when you want to and you may have an increased risk of an ectopic pregnancy if you do get pregnant.
Together we can change the future fertility! People are experiencing fertility issues at an alarming rate. Educating yourself now will help change those statistics and ensure you have healthy fertility. I hope you can find confidence in your body to know when something seems wrong or off. Then be able to ask for help! Open, honest communication is so important to having a healthy connection to your fertility and all of life. If you are a parent reading this, consider your connection to your teen and how you can best support their long-term fertiltiy. It matters! If you are a teen reading this and are looking for information or answers, let us know. We are here to help!
