Endometriosis - the 'invisible' illness

'We've decided to try for a baby.' These words, so often shared with ones nearest and dearest, make it sound so easy, as if deciding to start a family is the most natural thing in the world and falling pregnant should be a breeze. However, as an Endometriosis patient, I am fully aware that my journey to parenthood may be a difficult one.

For many women it truly is that easy, despite the fears regarding how a baby will change their lives or how on earth they will manage to pay for all the things advertisers insist are crucial for new mothers and babies. But for some women the decision can be so much harder.

I am fully aware, however, that my journey to parenthood may be a difficult one, as the incurable gynaecological condition I suffer from causes fertility issues for 30-40 per cent of the estimated 89 million women affected by it.

Endometriosis is an 'invisible illness', so-called because a woman may look perfectly healthy while suffering from immense physical and emotional pain.

This is because, for a woman with Endometriosis, the type of cells that usually line the uterus also grow in other areas of the body which can lead to, among other things, intense pain, inflammation and scar tissue. Endometriosis can only be diagnosed by a laparoscopy, enabling a surgeon to examine inside the abdomen.

At the age of 26 I have had two laparoscopies, both of which have revealed adhesions between the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes and rectum that have required clearing by a process known as Diathermy.

With such a history of adhesions affecting my reproductive organs there is every chance that falling pregnant could be more difficult than for a healthy female of my age.