March is Endometriosis Awareness Month and an excellent opportunity for education and discussion about the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis, a widespread infertility diagnosis that affects one in ten women of reproductive age.
In some women, endometriosis is so severe that they are not able to get pregnant or carry a pregnancy and need surrogacy to have a baby.
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory reaction of the reproductive system that occurs when endometrial tissue, which lines the uterus, is found outside of it, including on other reproductive organs, the pelvic cavity, the digestive tract, and the bladder. The out-of-place tissue creates abnormal lesions that respond to monthly hormonal surges. However, these lesions cannot leave the body via menstruation, so they cause inflammation and pain. In turn, scar tissue can form.
Endometriosis ranges from minimal to extensive. Pain is a defining characteristic of many endometriosis symptoms, including painful periods, pain in the pelvic cavity, pain during ovulation, and pain during sexual intercourse. Doctors can offer women treatment options such as in vitro fertilization to help. Hysterectomy sometimes is required and then a surrogate is the only option to conceive.
Sometimes endometriosis is so severe that IVF treatment may not work to achieve a pregnancy. Surrogacy with in vitro fertilization is an alternative that can help these women pursue motherhood and is the only option for women who have had hysterectomies.
The California Center for Reproductive Medicine (CACRM) offers women with severe endometriosis a physician-directed surrogacy program that is one of the best in the nation. We will help you select the right surrogate mother who must pass our rigorous recruitment, screening, evaluation, and matching processes.
CACRM has helped over 95% of our patients have a baby through surrogacy. We utilize the most advanced reproductive technologies, such as pre-implantation genetic testing, a complete medical evaluation with hysteroscopy of our surrogates, and genetic risk assessment, genetic testing, and medical evaluation of our egg donors if patients need one.
Don’t let severe, painful endometriosis keep you from fulfilling your dreams of motherhood. Surrogacy with in vitro fertilization can help you become a parent.