Effects Of Endometriosis And Pregnancy
What is endometriosis and how does it affect pregnancy? Endometriosis is a condition where the normal tissue that lines the inside of the uterus becomes dispersed elsewhere in the lower abdomen or pelvic area. As noted, this tissue itself is benign, but its presence can cause other problems. Endometriosis and pregnancy are interrelated as it can cause infertility, as it did us. But we overcame it and you can too. This article will discuss many aspects of endometriosis and its affect on pregnancy.
Though someone can have endometriosis and have tissue removed, it will many times come back or recur. Many women will complain of chronic pelvic pain as a symptom, and some believe 40% of women affected are infertile. Most women who do have endometriosis are somewhere in their mid-30’s and have not previously had children. Many women are actually diagnosed in their late 20’s. The reason that it is found in women in their reproductive years is because this tissue is particularly respondent to estrogen.
One of the other common signs that a woman has endometriosis is infertility. As in our case, we were infertile for 7 years and endometriosis was one of the causes. Women who do become pregnant may note miscarriages in the third trimester of their pregnancy as well if their endometriosis is untreated.
Patients who do have difficulty becoming pregnant because of this disease can see a fertility doctor. They have devised ways to monitor the patient through the pregnancy as to the growth of any endometrial tissue.
Besides the effects on pregnancy, this tissue can cause other harm to the female. The most common place for this tissue to abnormally grow is on the ovary. It could cause the ovary to rupture, and cause torsion of the ovarian vessels. This means the vessels will twist on itself cutting off blood supply to the ovary.
The goals of treating this benign growth is to relieve chronic pain in patients and to help improve fertility. More long-term goals consist of reducing the recurrence of this disease. There are different courses of treatment including medication and surgical.
The use of medications cannot be used to treat the problem of fertility in some patients because the medications are used to suppress estrogen. This is a very important hormone throughout the course of a healthy pregnancy. The key for many women in this predicament is to have surgical removal of the tissue. This can be discussed with an experienced gynecologist on the methods of removal of the tissue.
After removing our endometriosis, the next option for increased success of a pregnancy was in vitro fertilization. Removing endometriosis certainly helped in our case.
The condition of endometriosis is said to be benign as the tissue itself is not malignant. However, the are potential complications to this disease which may cause infertility and life-threatening problems like ovarian rupture. The symptoms of patients usually entail chronic pain and difficulty becoming pregnant or completing a pregnancy. This is not an uncommon condition, and it is found in women who are of child-bearing age. It is best to see a gynecologist to deal with the issue possibly a fertility doctor as well.
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