Endometriosis Not a Risk for Pregnancy

Larger-scale studies are needed to confirm this finding.

Key Points

Highlights:

Women with endometriosis do not seem to be at a higher risk of pregnancy-related complications compared to those without. 

Importance:

The findings suggest there may not be a need to take any special measures during the pregnancy care of women with endometriosis although more research is needed to confirm this.

Key results:

• No significant increase in pregnancy-related complications was noted in women with endometriosis compared to those without.
• The rate of Cesarean section was higher among women with endometriosis.

Limitations of the study:

This was a single center study on a relatively low number of patients. More research is needed to confirm the findings of this study.

Lay Summary

Women with endometriosis do not seem to be more at risk of having pregnancy-related complications compared to those without endometriosis, according to a study published in the Italian scientific journal Minerva Ginecologica. However, the authors say that larger studies are needed “to clarify the relationship between endometriosis and adverse pregnancy outcomes”.

These findings suggest that women with endometriosis who become pregnant may not need to be monitored closer than those without during their pregnancy.

In order to investigate whether endometriosis increases the risk of complications during pregnancy, a team of researchers led by Dr. Eyal Sheiner at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, in Beer-Sheva, Israel analyzed 504 women who delivered between 1988 and 2013 at Soroka University Medical Center in Beer Sheva. A total of 35 of the women had endometriosis while the remaining 467 did not. Women with endometriosis were diagnosed by laparoscopy or laparotomy. 

When they analyzed the outcome of the pregnancies, the researchers found that there were no differences between women with endometriosis and those without. The rate of Cesarean section was however higher among women with endometriosis compared to those without. 

“Endometriosis was not found as a risk factor for obstetrical complications or adverse perinatal outcomes,” the researchers wrote.

Research Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29063747