How Is Endometriosis and Pregnancy Related?

How Is Endometriosis and Pregnancy Related?

Women who have endometriosis are often concerned about if their condition will affect their ability to get pregnant. While endometriosis doesn't always cause Infertility, it may cause certain fertility problems in some cases. And about one third of women who have endometriosis find it difficult to conceive. Even when some women become pregnant, they still worry about how their endometriosis will affect their baby. Keep reading to learn more about the relationship between endometriosis and pregnancy.

What Is Endometriosis?
The endometrium is the tissue that lines the inside of the uterus. Endometriosis occurs when that tissue grows outside of your uterus. The disorder usually involves your bowel, ovaries and the tissue lining of your pelvis. In very rare cases, the tissue may even spread beyond the pelvic region. Even when the tissue overgrows and displaces, it still works like normal endometrial tissue, which means it will thicken, break down and bleed with your menstrual cycle.

However, the tissue becomes trapped because there is no way for it to go out of your body. It may lead to the formation of cysts called endometriomas, when your ovaries are involved. This may irritate surrounding tissue, leading to scar tissue or adhesions. It will cause serious pain, especially during your period. This may also lead to the development of several fertility problems.

Early diagnosis increases your chance of curing the condition. Therefore, you need to talk to your doctor immediately if you notice symptoms of endometriosis such as:

• Painful menstruation


• Chronic pelvic pain


• Fatigue


• Painful bowel movements


• Painful sexual intercourse


• Irregular bleeding


• Lower back pain


• Painful urination


• Pain during ovulation

You may experience some relief from these symptoms during pregnancy due to an increase in progesterone that induces a bit of remission.

How Could Endometriosis Affect Your Chances of Pregnancy?
Many women are often confused about the relationship between endometriosis and pregnancy. Endometriosis is the underlying cause in about 25%-35% of fertility problems in woman. If you're suffering from endometriosis, there's a 5% chance that you may have trouble getting pregnant.

There are many different reasons why endometriosis and pregnancy are linked together. For instance:

• Endometriosis may block your fallopian tubes that are almost microscopic in size. Any blockage in your fallopian tubes will make fertilization difficult and lead to infertility.


• Developing thickened adhesions will keep sperm from swimming upwards along the fallopian tube that will make it difficult to become pregnant.


• Adhesions may affect and change the normal position of the ovaries and the tubes in the pelvis, causing issues related to fertility.


• The egg may find it difficult to find its way into the tubes when the disorder coats the ovary.


• Cysts formed on the ovary due to bleeding of the displaced endometrial tissue will make ovulation difficult.


• Endometriosis and pregnancy are related because the disorder leads to pelvic inflammation that triggers the release of chemicals that are antagonistic towards sperm. This will make it difficult for a woman to become pregnant.


• Endometriosis may contribute towards irregular ovulation, which, in turn, will reduce your chances of conceiving.


• The quality of the egg may also suffer due to endometriosis, so they are less likely to become fertilized and develop normally.

How to Increase Chances of Pregnancy with Endometriosis
Now that you understand the connection between endometriosis and pregnancy, it is important to learn a few tips that will help improve your chances of becoming pregnant even when you have this disorder.

1. Try to Conceive Naturally
Though, with endometriosis, pregnancy seems hard but the condition itself doesn't always lead to infertility. Becoming pregnant early in your life may increase your chance of conception even when you have endometriosis. It is also a good idea to have sexual intercourse every other day around the time of ovulation. Stick to this routine and you may become pregnant within a year.

2. Get Pregnant with Medical Help
If you cannot get pregnant naturally after 12 months, you may consider asking for medical help. There are two options available in this regard.

• Conservative surgery: You may undergo a conservative surgery that involves removing as much endometriosis as possible. This helps clear the uterus and ovaries to improve your chances of becoming pregnant. Surgery will also help if you've been experiencing severe pain due to endometriosis. Your doctor may perform the procedure through traditional abdominal surgery or do it laparoscopically.


• Accepted fertilization: Also known as assisted reproductive technologies, accepted fertilization, such as in vitro fertilization, may prove more effective than conservative surgery. Many doctors usually opt for this method when conservative surgery proves ineffective.

Here's a video to help you understand how in vitro fertilization can make it easier for woman to get pregnant:

Other FAQs About Endometriosis and Pregnancy
What is the relationship between endometriosis and pregnancy? It's definitely a common question, but there are many other frequently asked questions about becoming pregnant with endometriosis.

Can Drug Treatment Improve Fertility?
No, it doesn't improve fertility during or after treatment. It may only help reduce the pain associated with endometriosis. Some doctors will also use drug treatment as a preparation for surgery. This treatment is based on hormones or anti-hormones, which can shrink the endometriotic tissues. These drugs have certain contraceptive effect which is not that effective, so other contraception methods are suggested to prevent pregnancy because this treatment can be harmful to a fetus.

Will Endometriosis Affect My Pregnancy?
It is true that endometriosis may cause several fertility problems and even cause delay in getting pregnant, but it won't hurt you once you're pregnant. Everything will work as normal pregnancy. Some women may report that they experienced more pain in the first few months of pregnancy. Generally, this pain improves with time but returns after you've delivered your baby.

Will Endometriosis Have an Effect on Delivery?
Many studies show that you should continue to receive medical care after you become pregnant with endometriosis. Even if you've managed to conceive, endometriosis is still a risk factor for Hypertension, premature delivery and bleeding after the 24th week of your pregnancy. Your healthcare provider may also suggest delivery by caesarean section.

Endometriosis

Endometriosis






Endometriosis is the excessive growth of endometrial cells (that forms the inner lining of the uterus) but they grow outside the uterus which can cause pelvic pain during menstruation. It occurs more commonly in women who have Infertility problems than in others. Most of the women with endometriosis will not have any symptoms except a dull pain. Pain killers and other way of treatment are available for endometriosis.

During normal course of menstrual cycle, endometrial cells join together to form a protective lining on the uterus to enclose the fertilized embryo. When the egg is not fertilized there is no use of retaining the inner lining of endometrial cells and hence they are shed during monthly menstruation cycle. But during endometriosis these cells will attach to the tissue located outside the uterus. Often they are found in the fallopian tubes or in the ovaries and are described as endometriosis implants. These implants are harmless and do not cause cancer.

Who are Affected ?

Endometriosis occurs in women who are in the reproductive ages (20-35 years). But it also develops in adolescent girls of age 11-13 years and sometime in women of menopausal age. It can also develop on women who take fertility drugs for getting conceived. Endometriosis is the major cause of pelvic pain for 15% of women living in the United States and 20-50% of women are diagnosed to have endometriosis (if they are taking fertility drugs).

Symptoms :

For some women there will not be any symptoms at all. For others endometriosis can cause pelvic pain during periods. The range of pain may differ from dull to severe. Pelvic pain will usually begin before your menstrual cycle starts and continue till you have bleeding. It can cause pain in the lower abdomen, your back and thighs. This dull pain will automatically vanish after menstruation.

For many women with endometriosis there will be pain when they have sex. In addition there can be signs like fatigue, Headache, bloating sensation and Constipation during menstrual cycle. The same symptoms are felt by women who have inflammatory disease in their pelvic region or more serious problem like Irritable Bowel Syndrome. In rare cases, endometriosis will make deeper implants in areas flooded with nerves thus aggravating the pain. The presence of endometrial tissue can cause infertility problems in women.

Causes :

There are many theories about the causative factor for endometriosis but nothing has been proved so far. Some believe that tissues of endometrial cells are deposited in the fallopian tubes due to the back pressure of menstrual flow which is known as retrograde menstruation. However this theory does not hold good enough because many women with retrograde menstruation are not having endometriosis.

Endometrial tissue develops on selected areas of the abdomen forming a special lining and hence it can be caused due to embryonic cell growth. Endometriosis is caused due to surgical scar if a woman undergoes hysterectomy or Caesarian section. There is possibility of endometrial tissue developing due to immune disorder.

Who are at risk?

Women who have never got conceived and never gave birth have increased risk of developing endometriosis. Women with family history of endometriosis and with history of pelvic problems and diseases have more chance for developing this problem. Women who have uterine abnormalities are prone to endometriosis.

Whether endometriosis can cause cancer?

It is true that women with developing tissues of endometrial cells have increased risk of having epithelial ovarian cancer. The risk squarely increases if a woman is found to be infertile due to endometriosis tissue development. You can reduce the risk of getting cancer by using oral contraceptive pills which can be effective for endometriosis.

Complications of Endometriosis :

The major complication of endometriosis is infertility. Women with endometriosis are often infertile and have difficulty in becoming pregnant. The presence of endometrial tissues can obstruct the path when the egg starts traveling towards the sperm for fertilization. Hence endometriosis can delay the pregnancy very much. It is better to get pregnant even if you are diagnosed with endometriosis since unnecessary delay can worsen the chance of pregnancy.

Tests and Diagnoses :

Your doctor will look for symptoms and check the exact location where pain occurs in your body. She may order for pelvic exam for ruling out any abnormalities in pelvic region and also to detect any scars in the uterus. Ultrasound scanning is done using high frequency sound waves that produce images which are captured in a instrument. By this method clear view of the uterus can be taken. Laparoscopy will be done by making tiny incision on the lower abdomen to collect tissue samples and testing it in the laboratory for detecting any cancerous cells.

Treatment :

Treatment depends on your health condition, symptoms and its symptoms. Medications and surgical approach are effective in treating endometriosis. To get relief from pain your doctor may prescribe non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil, Motrin IB or naproxen. Over the counter medications are also helpful in managing pain. Hormone injections are given for getting relief from pain caused by endometriosis. By taking hormone injection endometrial tissue will not develop and get implanted on the fallopian tubes.

Alternatively birth control pills and vaginal rings are used to manage endometrial tissue growth. It is possible to control pain by using oral contraceptive pills. Gonadotropin GnRH injection is given for blocking the ovarian stimulating hormones which will eventually lower the estrogen hormone and prevent menstruation. This hormone injection is effective in shrinking the endometrial tissues. Depo Provera injection is recommended for stopping menstruation as well as arresting the growth of endometrial tissue. Danazol is the drug given for controlling the growth of endometrial cells.

Surgical invasion is the best solution for women who are planning to get pregnant sooner. Your surgeon will remove the endometrial tissue thus making the uterus and ovaries intact for pregnancy. It will also give relief from the pain caused by endometriosis. Laparoscopy surgery is effective in removing endometriosis. Some women would undergo in vitro fertilization procedure IVF to get pregnant fast. In rare cases hysterectomy is done to remove the infected uterus and ovaries together. But the affected women can never become pregnant after hysterectomy. For managing mild pain you can have heat therapy and take warm baths to relax the pelvic muscles.