Why You’re Not Getting Pregnant

Endometriosis

RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association, estimates that three to five million American women of reproductive age suffer from endometriosis, defined as a chronic disease of the reproductive system in which cells from the endometrium (lining of the uterus) grow where they’re not supposed to—outside the uterine cavity, causing blocked tubes that could prevent the egg and sperm from meeting, or the fertilized egg from traveling down the fallopian tubes normally (causing an ectopic pregnancy). Common symptoms of endometriosis are heavy and painful periods, pain during intercourse, and mild to severe cramping during menstruation.

Treatment:

The only way to really know if you’re suffering from endometriosis is through laparoscopy, a surgical procedure using a lighted tube to check for cysts in the abdomen. You can have these cysts removed during a laparoscopic procedure. “Some patients get pregnant 6 to 8 months after surgery,” Dr. Schoolcraft says. If pregnancy doesn’t occur, he recommends Clomid, insemination or—in more severe cases—IVF.