Endometriosis And Infertility
Infertility occurs in one in three women or between 30 to 50 percent of women diagnosed with endometriosis. The condition occurs in all four stages of the disease; however, the casual relationship between stages I and II dis-ease and infertility is problematic. Extensive scarring and blocking of the re-productive tract as a result of adhesion’s and obstructive implants in stages III and IV disease can easily account for infertility. However, other mechanisms may account for infertility in all stages of the disease. Failure to recognize the role of these other mechanisms will only delay a patient’s chancesof conceiving.
The Endometriosis-Infertility Connection
Medical scientists have found several different mechanisms through which endometriosis can affect your fertility.
Extensive scarring from adhesion’s and bleeding from old lesions that causes further adhesion’s can interfere with the normal anatomy of the reproductive tract. Adhesion’s have been found to freeze the reproductive organs in place and prevent the transfer of an egg to the fallopian tube. Adhesion’s create abnormal connections between normally separate parts. Thus, adhesion’s may cause the fallopian tubes and ovaries to adhere to the lining of the pelvis and to each other, restricting their movement. Additionally, endometriosis can obstruct the inside of the fallopian tubes, impeding the path of the egg to the uterus.
Abnormalities in the peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis may ac-count for endometriosis-associated infertility.
Women with less severe forms of the disease may have more time as well as more treatment options available to them to aid conception. One such method is expectant fertility management, or becoming more aware of your fertility through natural family planning techniques. By becoming more aware of your body’s changes during the menstrual cycle, you will be better able to determine when ovulation occurs. Additionally, if no other problems are apparent that may reduce your chances of becoming pregnant, expectant management techniques will be beneficial.
Fertility awareness techniques include:
Calendar (Rhythm Method
This method requires vigilant tracking of your menstrual cycle to estimate your most fertile days. Not too reliable given the fact that very few women with endometriosis have regular menstrual cycles.
Basal Body Temperature (BBT) Method
Basal body temperature (BBT) is the lowest temperature that a healthy per-son experiences on any given day. This would require monitoring your body temperature before getting out of bed every morning, to estimate when you are ovulating. This method can also be unreliable because many women do not exhibit a drop in BBT.
Cervical Mucus (Billings) Method
This involves observing and recording the appearance of your cervical mucus over several menstrual cycles to estimate when you are ovulating.
Ovulation Prediction Kits
These kits help identify your most fertile days during a menstrual cycle by testing the luteinizing hormone (LH) levels in your urine.
Combined Method
This method involves monitoring your body’s changes for optimal fertility days by combining all the methods above and making special note of your body’s signs of ovulation.
Whatever may be the causes of endometriosis associated infertility, the thought of not being able to have children can be psychologically traumatic.
