What is PCOS and Why Does It Matter?
My first paid writing project was an article on Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) for a medical information website. I barely recall learning about PCOS in pharmacy school. Maybe I was distracted that day (entirely possible). I just remembered thinking that something that affects 10% of women probably deserved more than the passing mention.
With that kind of prevalence, everyone knows a woman with PCOS. It’s probably not something she talks about, but it impacts many areas of her life—including her faith, identity, and how she views her body.
As Christians, we’re called to steward our bodies with wisdom—and that often includes a holistic approach that addresses not just symptoms, but the heart, mind, and body together. This post offers a Christian perspective on PCOS, combining medical understanding with gospel truth for women walking this hard road.
Common PCOS Symptoms and Why They’re Often Dismissed
PCOS is a hormonal disorder in which a woman’s body produces excess androgen. The most famous androgen is testosterone. While we think of androgens as male hormones, female bodies produce them in small amounts (just as male bodies produce estrogen in small amounts). It’s the “excess” part of the equation that causes the difficulties.
The causes and feedback loops that lead to this are complex (they always are—which is why I find learning about them both frustrating and fascinating). The end result is a host of symptoms. Not all women with PCOS have all the symptoms, but the common ones are unexpected weight gain, acne, and excess facial hair. And then there are the less visible symptoms: insulin resistance, irregular periods (which often means infrequent or lack of ovulation and fertility issues). Doctors call it “polycystic ovarian syndrome” because many women develop cysts on their ovaries, although that’s not always the case. Women with PCOS are also at higher risk for developing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease later in life.1
When Your Body Feels Like the Enemy
Because so many of the symptoms of PCOS are visible, women with PCOS often feel like their bodies are fighting against them. Their bodies hold on to excess weight. Facial breakouts. Facial hair. They never know when a period is going to come—and how bad it will be when it does come.
Adding to this is the fight women sometimes endure just to get a diagnosis. Providers often dismiss their symptoms—weight gain, acne, irregular periods—as mere lifestyle choices or ‘just how things are,’ without investigating the underlying cause. And for women who desire children, there is often the added heartache of infertility. This particular heartache goes all the way back to the book of Genesis.
It’s easy to feel like your body is the enemy. But in Christ, your body is not your enemy—it is part of your sanctification, part of the story God is redeeming. This is the tension of trusting God with chronic illness
PCOS and Womanhood: What God Really Says
PCOS can distort how you see your body, identity, and worth. You may know God loves you, but it’s hard to feel it in a body that won’t cooperate. When society ties womanhood to a particular look, body type, and the ability to conceive, women with PCOS may find that the lies speak louder than God’s truth. Church communities often imply—or even openly state—that motherhood is the highest calling of womanhood, which can make this struggle especially painful. Especially if this is something you desire to have.
The highest calling of all people, male and female, is to glorify God. Motherhood or an hourglass figure are not essentials for godly womanhood. God made you and understands your frailty. You cannot help the false assumptions of others, and God’s love for you doesn’t mean they won’t cause pain. But you can rest in the fact that the opinions of others don’t get the final say in your worth or your womanhood. Gospel hope for women with PCOS means your worth isn’t tied to your fertility, figure, or hormone levels. It’s anchored in Jesus.
Gospel Anchors for the PCOS Storm
It is lonely to have a condition that people don’t understand. This is something I observe over and over with chronic conditions. Your hormones or your health do not determine your worth. God determines your worth as one of his chosen daughters. Godly womanhood is not about appearance and body type. It is following God in the life and circumstances he has called you to (Acts 17:26-27).
This is hard to believe when the church seems to say that godly womanhood is soft-focus photos of thin women in prairie skirts leading their brood of children through fields of wildflowers. PCOS is a hard providence, no matter how strong your faith. You have to continually remind yourself of the truth, even when you don’t feel it. That’s why we need biblical encouragement for hormonal struggles—not just health advice or surface-level affirmations.
God does see you in your struggle, even when nobody else does. He does love you through it. His grace is sufficient, even in this. God’s presence is more powerful than the hormones wreaking havoc inside you.
Practical Help to Honor Your Body and Faith
Social media floods our feeds with tips on a healthy lifestyle. Most of us have heard the recommendations on healthy diet and exercise. And ironically, the recommendations to diet and exercise that most women are given before their PCOS diagnosis really are true afterwards. The twist, however, is that women with PCOS need to do it in order to steward their body well, realizing they may not have the dramatic results in their appearance that others do.
A diagnosis like PCOS can make women especially vulnerable to anyone promising complete healing. While some voices offer wise guidance on holistic approaches—like nutrition, movement, and stress management—things that truly can help, there is no simple cure for something so complex and no magic bullet that will make it all go away. Healing may not look like a reversal of symptoms, but rather faithful stewardship and deepening trust in Christ through the process
You Are Seen, Loved, and Redeemed
Stewarding your body with a holistic approach—through nutrition, movement, rest, and faith—can be an act of worship, even when full healing doesn’t come. There aren’t many words to fix the pain and frustration of a condition that has cost you so much, but there is a Savior who is always near (Psalm 34:18). PCOS may be a big part of your earthly story, but it does not get the final say. God will raise up your earthly body, affected by the fall, perishable and weak, in power and glory. (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). Until that day, you can lean on the God who always sees. (Genesis 16:13)
Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
Want to go deeper? Learn about God’s design for hormones in this foundational post.
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- Melmed, S., Auchus, R. J., Goldfine, A. B., Rosen, C. J., & Kopp, P. A. (Eds.). (2025). Williams textbook of endocrinology (15th ed.). Elsevier, pp 1118-1119. ↩︎
