You may have been told that the reason you can't get pregnant is because you have endometriosis, and now you want know what it is and if there is anything you can do. You first have to understand both endometriosis and infertility.

The word endometriosis is based on the word endometrium, which is the medical term for the lining of the uterus. This lining normally lines the inside of the uterus, but in cases of endometriosis, the lining grows outside of the uterus. As you will see, this can cause many problems, among which is infertility. There is a very close correlation between endometriosis and infertility.

In the normal menstrual cycle, if no egg was fertilized during the cycle, all of the tissue that was developed to accept the fertilized egg dissolves and is expelled, causing a woman's menstrual period. The body also tries to expel the endometrium that has formed outside of the uterus, but since it is outside the uterus, it becomes trapped and causes scar tissue, cysts or adhesions that may bind parts of the reproductive organs together.

In many cases, this is an extremely painful condition, and so a woman may be alerted to the fact that she has endometriosis long before she attempts to become pregnant. This is because many women will go to see their doctor due to the pain, and the doctor's examination reveals a diagnosis of endometriosis. Or, the woman may have had some other surgical procedure and the doctor saw that there was endometrial tissue in her pelvic area.

Besides the pain, the other signals that you may have endometriosis are painful periods. Yes, that is an oxymoron, since most periods are painful, but a woman with severe endometriosis will experience abnormally painful periods as well as extraordinarily heavy blood flow. In addition, many women may experience pain in the pelvic area, even outside of the time of the menstrual cycle.

And, of course, one of the other important indicators of endometriosis is infertility. Although some women with endometriosis may never experience infertility problems, as many as half of the woman with this condition have trouble getting pregnant. As a matter of fact, endometriosis is probably one of the leading causes of infertility.

Fertility problems due to endometriosis increase with age, so any woman who knows she has this condition should try to become pregnant sooner rather than later. There are even some who theorize that pregnancy relieves endometriosis.

The primary treatment for endometriosis if you are trying to get pregnant is laparoscopic surgery. The surgery removes the scar tissue, therefore improving the chance of pregnancy by opening up the channels for the egg to flow through the fallopian tube to the uterus. . There are drug treatments, but these are not safe for pregnant women, so cannot be used if you are trying to become pregnant In addition, a doctor may prescribe infertility drugs to additionally improve the egg count and therefore further improve the chances of a successful pregnancy.