Dr. Magtibay explains how taking birth control pills and pregnancy can prevent endometriosis and discusses the impact of family history. Dr. Magtibay is a gynecologist cancer specialist at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.
Dr. Magtibay:
Prevention of endometriosis are similar to that of uterine cancer and ovarian cancer. By taking birth control pills we can prevent the development of endometriosis because birth control pills cause the tissue to shrink just like it causes shrinkage of the lining of the uterus itself. So birth control pills can prevent endometriosis.
We have, pregnancy will prevent endometriosis. We hear women all the time saying that they had painful periods or difficulty getting pregnant and they have a history of endometriosis but then they get pregnant and then because of the high progesterone state of pregnancy, after their pregnancy their symptoms have improved. So those are the two main preventative measures for endometriosis.
Family history I think is important for endometriosis and there’s a lot of conflicting data but in general we do believe that there tends to be an inheritance type pattern or a family risk of developing endometriosis so if your mother has a history of endometriosis and her sisters or your sister has a history of endometriosis then I think you are at a higher risk for developing the disease, as well.