Can people with endometriosis still get pregnant?

For those of you who are diagnosed with endometriosis, you may feel anxious and afraid that you will not be able to get pregnant and have children. Even though you have had sexual relations with your partner, you have never gotten pregnant either. In fact, is it possible for pregnancy to occur despite endometriosis?

How does endometriosis occur?

Endometriosis is a condition in which the tissue lining the uterine wall (endometrium) grows and accumulates in other organs. Normally, the endometrium or uterine wall tissue will thicken when you are about to ovulate (the ovaries release an egg). The uterine wall will prepare itself to thicken so that the prospective fetus can stick to the uterus - if fertilization occurs. However, if there is no fertilization, the thickened endometrium will shed. That's when you have your period.

Meanwhile, when a woman has endometriosis, the uterine lining tissue that grows outside the uterus will also shed when you are menstruating. However, the shed tissue does not come out through the vagina like normal tissue in the uterus, so the remnants of the endometrium will settle around the reproductive organs.

Over time, these deposits will cause inflammation, cysts, scarring, and eventually cause disturbance. Even so, until now the exact cause of these reproductive disorders is not known with certainty.

Why does endometriosis put me at risk for infertility?

This condition will make it difficult for you to get pregnant and increase the risk of infertility. For example, when the endometrium grows in the fallopian tube - the tube that connects the ovaries to the uterus - the sperm cannot fertilize the egg because it is blocked by endometrial deposits.

Meanwhile, if the abnormal tissue grows around the ovaries, it can block the ovaries from producing eggs. All of these conditions ultimately make it difficult for you to get pregnant and be infertile.

Then can I get pregnant even though I have endometriosis?

Even though this condition occurs in the reproductive system, it doesn't mean you can't get pregnant. Don't worry, because the possibility of getting pregnant is always there. A study conducted by the World Endometriosis Research Foundation states that 1 in 3 women with endometriosis can get pregnant normally without the help of fertility treatments at all.

What medications can I take to get pregnant?

Various research results state that there are 40-50% of women with endometriosis who are given fertility drugs can get pregnant normally. Likewise with women who undergo the IVF method. This method can also be an option for those of you who have difficulty getting pregnant due to endometriosis.

Or you can also have surgery to remove deposits or treat wounds caused by the endometrial tissue. Treatment in this way is successful in making 30-80% of women with endometriosis pregnant. However, this method depends on the conditions of each individual.

In some cases, the surgery is performed to reduce the amount of your ovum that is still stored. To find out which treatment is right for you, you should talk about this with your gynecologist.

What should I do to increase my chances of getting pregnant?

Apart from taking the medication recommended by the medical team, it is important for you to live a healthy lifestyle. By adopting a healthy lifestyle, you can increase your chances of getting pregnant. This will help reduce the risk of inflammation in your reproductive organs and help prepare a good and healthy home for a growing fetus.

Some of the things you can do are:

Maintain ideal body weight.
Eat a healthy, high-fiber diet. Avoid foods that are high in fat, calories and sugar.
Doing regular exercise is important to keep your body fit and healthy.
Avoid bad habits such as consuming alcohol, smoking, and staying up late.