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Endometriosis, a deviant growth of
tissues outside the uterus, primarily expected to line the inside walls of the
organ, can quietly propel one towards infertility or create a barrier in getting
pregnant.
An estimated 10.8 million women suffer from endometriosis worldwide and
one-third of women with this condition have struggled to get pregnant.
According to Dr Neena Bahl of Fortis La Femme, New Delhi, endometrium is the
inner epithelial layer in the ovary. Endometriosis is a disorder where
endometrium, primarily lining the inner walls of uterus, starts growing outside
the uterus wall. "Often, this deviant development takes place on the ovaries,
fallopian tubes, and tissues around the uterus and ovaries, and only in rare
circumstances does the growth take place in some other part of the body," added
Dr Bahl.
-Causes of Endometriosis
What causes endometriosis is still not known, as the reasons have varied from
person to person. However, certain factors increase the risks of the disorder.
Hereditary: Women who share a family history with a person
having the condition are up to 7-10 times more likely to develop endometriosis.
Also, identical twins are prone to share the disease.
Retrograde Menstruation: During menstruation, the blood flows
out of the body through gentile but retrograde menstruation or backward bleeding
takes back the blood containing endometrial cells through fallopian tube to
pelvic cavity.
Metaplasia: Under this condition, pelvic tissues are converted
into endometriosis.
Other than these, the occurrence of menarche before the age of 11 years,
prolonged days of profuse bleeding (more than five days), having a regular cycle
of less than 27 days or even shorter, having first pregnancy in late age, low
body weight, and alcoholism are some of the factors playing a significant role
in endometriosis.
-Symptoms that shouldn't be ignored
Pain: It is a warning sign of this condition. The severity of
pain does not define danger; however, the location of the endometrial tissues
does. When one is feeling pain before and during periods, pain during or after
sex, abdominal, back and/or pelvic pain; pain during urination or bowel pass,
ovulation pain passing through thigh or leg.
Pattern of bleeding: Another sign to lookout for is the pattern
of bleeding which includes heavy bleeding, with or without clots, irregular
bleeding, with or without a regular cycle, bleeding longer than normal, and
bleeding before due date.
Bloating, bowel problem, tiredness, mood swings and spasm or tightness of pelvic
floor during intercourse too is a warning sign.
-How endometriosis affects motherhood
Dr. Amita Shah of Columbia Asia Hospital, Gurugram, said, "Around 30 percent of
women with the condition have faced difficulty in getting pregnant.
Endometriosis tampers with the uterus. It does not necessarily make one
infertile but clearly constitutes a hindrance in getting pregnant naturally. The
excess adhesion caused by tissue growth can confine the egg and stop it from
moving down the fallopian tube which in turn prevents a natural pregnancy."
The tissue development scars the fallopian tube, ovaries and affects the quality
of the eggs. It also creates problems in the implant of the embryo in the uterus
wall as the tube is damaged by the swelling and changes organs in the pelvis
such as adhesions with scarred pelvic tissue and blockage of the fallopian
tubes. By all means, endometriosis tampers with a womb and makes things
difficult for women planning a child.
Fertility shares a good relationship with a healthy mind; women with depression
and other mood-related disorder usually fail to conceive easily. Endometriosis
along with trouble getting problems is accompanied by a number of mood disorders
in the woman. Anxiety, stress, depression and feeling incomplete constantly are
some of the feelings induced by endometriosis.
It is important to remember not all women with endometriosis are infertile.
There exist enough cases where women have given birth without difficulty, have
children before they are diagnosed with the disorder, and even become pregnant
successfully. It is often during investigations of the cause of delayed
pregnancy of failure after repeated tries, women discover the development of
endometriosis.
If the treatment fails to make the situation any better than motherhood should
not come to a pause, in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatments is a gift of
science to be utilized.
However, the treatment should not be compromised if one gets pregnant. Untreated
endometriosis is a risk for premature baby birth, mostly before 40th week;
bleeding after the 24th week of pregnancy; preeclampsia or high blood pressure
and worst is a miscarriage.
So, understanding the disease, identifying the symptoms and treatment
collaboratively can improve fertility and restore motherhood in a woman with
endometriosis.
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