Endometriosis – the overgrowth of the uterine lining in other pelvic organs – is not an uncommon cause of infertility. While it can be hard to conceive naturally with endometriosis, some women do get pregnant. If you are one of them, what can you expect? Will your endometriosis impact your pregnancy in any way?

One common fear of pregnant women who have endometriosis is that their childbirth will hurt more than usual. These fears are not ungrounded, because many women find this to be true. One woman on our Trying To Conceive forum shared her insights with someone else who wanted to know what labor is truly like with endometriosis. She said:

I had surgery for endo before I got pregnant and I am sure that helped with actually conceiving. He is four years old now, and I was hoping for a natural childbirth after reading some midwifery books and even considered giving birth at a birth center. I have to say I am glad I didn’t because I ended up needing an epidural to cope with the pain immediately, pretty soon after I came to the hospital. They broke my water and the labor before the epi was in was HELL. Now I’ve gone the other way to natural birth and say be thankful for pain meds, because I honestly don’t know that I could have coped without them.

That is clear enough, isn’t it? This women had surgery and still ended up with a lot of pain. This is not to say that the experience will be the same for all women, but it does show that women with endometriosis, especially if they have a low tolerance for pain, are wise to ensure that pain relief, like epidural anesthesia, will be available during their labor and delivery.

It is certainly a good idea to talk to your doctor about endometriosis during pregnancy, and about the potential impact it will have during birth. If you are still trying to conceive, laparascopic surgery to remove the endometriosis may be a viable option for you, to increase your chances of conceiving. See: How to get pregnant with endometriosis, for more information.