Endometriosis: Can Women Prevent It? - Dr. Magtibay
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.
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Dr. Magtibay:
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.

