For the millions of women in the United States dealing with endometriosis — the condition affects 11% of reproductive-aged women — family building can become more challenging.
The reality is that endometriosis and infertility are closely linked. Between one quarter and one half of women with infertility have endometriosis, and, going in the other direction, between 30% and 50% of women with endometriosis have infertility.
Making this reality more complex is the fact that one of the frontline treatments for endometriosis symptoms is hormone medications that further prevent pregnancy.
So, what can a woman with endometriosis-related fertility issues do if she wants to build a family? Plenty says Dr. Ulas Bozdogan and our team at Advanced Endometriosis Center.
Since June is World Infertility Awareness Month, we’re going to dive into ways women can work around endometriosis-driven infertility to build the families of their dreams.
One of the primary ways in which endometriosis can affect your fertility is by preventing sperm from reaching and fertilizing your eggs. This might be due to blockages in your fallopian tubes caused by endometrial adhesions or the inflammatory environment in your reproductive system that interferes with the travel of eggs and sperm.
One way we facilitate fertilization is to deliver sperm directly into your uterus using a small, flexible catheter. This places the sperm closer to the egg, increasing your chances for successful fertilization.
We do this during ovulation and also typically provide women with fertility medications to increase the chances of successful conception.
At our practice, Dr. Bozdogan is committed to helping women navigate the challenging world of endometriosis. He has performed more than 2,000 minimally invasive, robotic-assisted procedures in this quest.
Surgical intervention is a great solution for women who want to get pregnant, but advanced endometriosis has created structural changes that hinder fertility.
Unfortunately, there’s no single surgical method, as endometriosis can affect your reproductive health in a number of different ways, from adhesions that block your fallopian tubes to cysts on your ovaries that interfere with ovulation.
Fortunately, thanks to his extensive experience with even the most difficult cases of endometriosis, you have one of the best resources in Dr. Bozdogan.
Another workaround for endometriosis-related infertility is in vitro fertilization (IVF). With this technique, we harvest your eggs directly from your ovaries.
Once collected, an IVF lab performs the fertilization process using sperm from your partner or a donor, and then the newly fertilized eggs are implanted back into your uterus.
When your body detects endometrial tissue growing where it shouldn’t — the hallmark of endometriosis — it triggers a widespread inflammatory response. This inflammatory environment can interfere with fertility in several ways, including:
As we work toward re-establishing your fertility with our treatments, you can help by switching over to an anti-inflammatory diet. This is basically the Mediterranean diet, which focuses on lean proteins, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables.
The other key is to ditch inflammatory foods, namely sugar, processed carbohydrates, red meats, and trans fats.
As you can see, you’re not without options if you want to work around infertility caused by endometriosis, and we’ll work with you until we find a solution.
To get on the road to family building, despite your endometriosis diagnosis, we invite you to contact us at one of our conveniently located offices in New York City or Paramus, New Jersey, to schedule a consultation.
