Endometriosis is the leading cause of infertility. It affects about 5 million women in the United States, many in their 30s and 40s. Nearly 2 of every 5 women who can’t get pregnant have it.
If endometriosis interferes with your reproductive organs, your ability to get pregnant can become an issue:
- When endometrial tissue wraps around your ovaries, it can block your eggs from releasing.
- The tissue can block sperm from making its way up your fallopian tubes.
- It can stop a fertilized egg from sliding down your tubes to your uterus.
A surgeon can fix those problems, but endometriosis can make it hard for you to conceive in other ways:
- It can change your body’s hormonal chemistry.
- It can cause your body’s immune system to attack the embryo.
- It can affect the layer of tissue lining your uterus where the egg implants itself.
Your doctor can surgically remove the endometrial tissue. This clears the way for the sperm to fertilize the egg.
If surgery isn’t an option, you might consider intrauterine insemination (IUI), which involves putting your partner’s sperm directly into your uterus.
Your doctor may suggest pairing IUI with “controlled ovarian hyperstimulation,” which means using medicine to help your ovaries put out more eggs. Women who use this technique are more likely to conceive than those who don’t get help.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is another option. It can raise your chances of conceiving, but the statistics on IVF pregnancies vary.