A friend of mine...?

Question

A friend of mine found out yesterday that she's pregnant. She also has endometriosis. I was just curious at the chances of a woman with endometriosis carrying a baby to full term. How will it effect her pregnancy? I just want to know a little more about it. She's not wanting to get excited about being pregnant yet cuz she doesn't know if she's going to be able to carry the baby sucessfully.

Answer 1

every woman is different she will just need 2 see what happens

Answer 2

I work with a woman who has endometriosis and she has a beautiful 10 year old boy. Unfortunately she couldn't get pregnant again after her first, but she did carry her first to term. The chance of getting pregnant is low in endometrisois patients, so if she's pregnant already as long as she's healthy and smart during her pregnancy she should be fine.

Answer 3

She shouldn't have any trouble carrying the baby to full term. It is probably a miracle that she got pregnant to begin with. Women with endometriosis have hard time getting pregnant. This may also be the only child she will ever have. She should embrace the moment and be happy.
Good luck!!

Answer 4

My husband's cousin has endometriosis and has three beautiful children ages 4 & under. She carried to term for all 3.

Answer 5

I have endometriosis and i have a wonderful 7 year old boy. But my second pregnancy did go so well. I can not get pregnant again.

Please reassure her that everything should go fine. But to waste this pregnancy on worry or abortion would be terrible. She may not get another chance.

Answer 6

Endometriosis

Many women experience painful periods. In a minority of cases, this can be caused by endometriosis, a condition in which small pieces of the endometrium (womb lining) grow outside the womb. Endometriosis occurs in 1-15% of women of childbearing age. In many women it causes no symptoms, but in others it can cause severe pain and may reduce the chances of becoming pregnant.

What is endometriosis?
During the menstrual cycle the lining of the uterus (womb), known as the endometrium, gradually thickens and fills with blood as it prepares for the arrival of a fertilised egg. If the egg is not fertilised, the uterus lining breaks down and is lost as the monthly period.

Sometimes small pieces of endometrium grow on organs outside the uterus. This is called endometriosis. The endometriosis goes through the same monthly changes as the uterus lining; sometimes swelling and bleeding into the body cavity, which can cause inflammation and pain. Rubbery bands of scar tissue, called adhesions, may form. These can attach organs and tissues together and affect surrounding organs.

Endometriosis most commonly occurs on the ovaries, Fallopian tubes and the tissues that hold the uterus in place.

When it occurs on the ovaries the endometriosis can forms cysts (endometrioma). These are also called "chocolate cysts" because of the brown fluid they contain. They may not cause any pain and may only be found during an internal examination to check fertility. However if they burst, their contents spill into the body cavity where they can cause severe pain and result in adhesions. Less commonly, endometriosis can occur on the bladder, bowel or other organs.

What causes endometriosis?
No one knows for certain what causes endometriosis or why some women get it and others do not.

Some people believe it is caused by menstrual fluid flowing backwards up the Fallopian tubes towards the ovaries, instead of flowing out of the body through the vagina.


The female pelvic organs
Who gets endometriosis?
Endometriosis can occur in any woman of childbearing age, and can run in families. It is more common in white people than in other ethnic groups, in women who give birth for the first time after the age of 30, and in infertile women.

Symptoms of endometriosis
Pelvic pain, which feels like period pain, is the most common symptom of endometriosis. The symptoms can vary, with some women having no symptoms at all, while others have severe pain. The pain usually occurs around the time of a period, but in some women pelvic pain can be constant. It may be felt on one side of the body, in the middle or on both sides. Some women find that sexual intercourse before or during a period is painful. There may also be changes to periods, such as a small loss of blood before the period is due (spotting), irregular bleeding or heavy periods.

Endometriosis on the bowel or bladder may cause swelling of the lower abdomen and pain when going to the toilet, or blood in the stools during a period. Symptoms of endometriosis often disappear during pregnancy or after the menopause. In some women, difficulty becoming pregnant is the first sign of endometriosis.

Diagnosis
None of the symptoms of endometriosis are unique to the condition, so the only way to be sure that a woman has endometriosis is to look inside the abdomen. This needs to be done in hospital using a laparoscope, a thin telescope that is inserted through a small cut in the skin just below the navel. The examination of the internal organs is usually done under general anaesthetic by a gynaecologist. If endometriosis is found, a small piece of the tissue may be removed for testing. The examination takes about 30 minutes and can usually be done without an overnight stay.

Treatment
Treatments for endometriosis aim to:

relieve pain,
shrink endometriosis or slow its growth,
remove the endometriosis,
maintain or restore fertility.
The type of treatment will depend on the woman’s age, the severity of her symptoms, whether she wants to have children, and the extent of the endometriosis. Without treatment endometriosis stays the same or gets better in most women, but in about one in three women it gets worse.

It is important to discuss the condition with a doctor and agree a treatment plan. If the endometriosis is mild then drug treatment may be effective. In more severe endometriosis, surgery may be required. Sometimes it is necessary to remove the uterus (hysterectomy) or one or both ovaries.

Pain relief
Painkillers (such as paracetamol and codeine) or anti-inflammatories (such as ibuprofen) may help to control the pain if the symptoms are mild.

Complementary therapy
Some women find complementary treatments such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, herbal remedies, and homeopathy are helpful.

Hormonal treatment
Just like the normal endometrium, endometrial cells need the hormone oestrogen to survive and grow. Hormonal medicines that reduce the amount of oestrogen in the body will reduce the size of the endometriosis. There are several hormonal medicines that can be used:

combined oral contraceptives (the pill),
progestogens,
danazol,
gestrinone,
gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues.
All of these hormonal medicines work equally well overall, but have different side-effects. The doctor may suggest trying several medicines to find one that works and causes fewest side effects.

A barrier method of contraception (such as condoms) should be used to prevent pregnancy while taking hormonal medicines (except oral contraceptives) because they can damage a developing baby.

Treatment with medicines won’t cure endometriosis and symptoms usually return when the medicine is stopped.

Surgery
The aim of surgery is to remove as much of the endometriosis as possible while maintaining the woman’s ability to have children. Surgery is recommended if:

the pieces of endometriosis are larger than 4–5cm (1.5–2 inches),
there are many adhesions or they are interfering with the normal workings of internal organs such as the bowel,
the endometriosis is blocking the Fallopian tubes and causing infertility,
there is severe pain which cannot be controlled with painkillers or hormones.
The endometriosis may be cut away, or destroyed with heat produced by an electric current or by using a laser. This can often be done by laparoscope, using small cuts in the belly and a telescope to view the inside of the pelvic area (keyhole surgery). Alternatively, an "open" operation, with a larger incision may be required.

Outcome of treatment
Endometriosis returns in about one in five women. Hormonal medicines are sometimes given after surgery to try to delay this return. However, the only sure way to prevent endometriosis returning is to remove the ovaries.

This is only considered for women with severe symptoms as a last option, or in women who are not planning to have a baby.

Ultrasound, X-ray and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) may be used to see how the endometriosis is responding to treatment.

Endometriosis and fertility
Endometriosis may reduce the chances of a woman getting pregnant. In severe cases this may be due to blockage of the Fallopian tubes, but even mild endometriosis can reduce fertility. Medicines used to treat endometriosis do not improve fertility, but surgery can do so if the endometriosis is interfering with the normal workings of the uterus and ovaries. Some women with endometriosis who want to have a baby may need fertility treatment.

Answer 7

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