With its fair share of advantages and disadvantages, parenthood has always been an intimidating and wonderful experience. Although naturally conceiving has always been vital, but with changing habits and lifestyles, becoming pregnant inherently become complex and emerged with various hurdles, with infertility being the significant worry. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) report, around 1 in 10 persons worldwide experience infertility, accounting for more than 17.5% of the adult population.
In addition, among various diseases, endometriosis—a condition in which tissues identical to the uterine lining grow outside of the uterus—is complicating the childbearing process and impacting fertility to a great extent. Furthermore, there is no denying that endometriosis and infertility are inextricably linked, causing enormous stress in women. Thus, preventing the disease before it starts impacting fertility becomes essential because there is no cure. So, let’s go into the specifics and see how it affects fertility as Dr. Chitra Ramamurthy, senior consultant, fertility and IVF, Apollo Fertility, JP Nagar, explains the same in this article.
Endometriosis is a chronic disease that affects many women of reproductive age. Furthermore, it is a syndrome in which tissues comparable to the womb’s lining begin to grow outside the womb, causing considerable pain in the pelvis and making childbirth difficult. According to a World Health Organisationreport, endometriosis affects roughly 10% of approximately 190 million reproductive-age women and girls globally.
However, there is no complete cure for endometriosis at the moment, and therapies are mainly aimed at controlling it. As a result, it has become critical to prevent it before it has an impact on fertility. However, before we go into the remedy, let’s first understand how endometriosis affects fertility.
Though the exact process by which endometriosis impacts fertility is unknown, it can interfere with a woman’s ability to conceive in several ways. First, the condition causes adhesions and structural abnormalities inside the pelvis, which can interfere with the proper functioning of the reproductive organs, such as the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus, making fertilization and implantation problematic. Second, the disease with extreme pain can cause accumulating of menstrual blood in ovaries ( chocolate cyst) affecting egg formation, raising worries about fertility.
Finally, endometriosis may cause adhesions of the fallopian tubes, impairing their capacity to pick up an egg released by the ovary and transport it to the uterus. As a result, become difficult for sperm to encounter the egg, developing fertility concerns.It can also cause biochemical disturbances in endometrial lining thus decreasing endometrial reeceptivity and causing infertility. Moreover, endometriosis is a prevalent ailment that might interfere with daily life. It causes long-term pain and has a significant impact on fertility. As a result, consulting fertility specialists is most recommended for managing symptoms while experiencing the joy of parenthood.
Prevention is better than cure!
It is undeniably true that over the years, endometriosis has arisen as a major topic. It is critical to recognize the influence on people’s sexual and reproductive health, quality of life, and general well-being. In fact, increased awareness, followed by early detection and therapy, can slow the advancement of the disease and minimise the long-term burden of its symptoms. Additionally, to experience the joys of parenthood without any complications, consulting a fertility expert and receiving proper treatment alternatives evolved as the ideal option to help boost the chances of conception.
