Endometriosis and fertility

Endometriosis may impact your fertility and plans to become pregnant. Many women with endometriosis can get pregnant without any medical help, but 30% to 50% of women with endometriosis find it hard to get pregnant. This may be due to things like scarring of the fallopian tubes and ovaries or changes to the shape of pelvic organs.

If you feel worried or depressed about having endometriosis and fertility problems, talk to your doctor, counsellor or psychologist. They can help you understand the diagnosis and your options, such as fertility treatment.

On this page you'll find information about fertility treatment and how pregnancy may impact symptoms of endometriosis.

Fertility treatment

Your doctor may recommend keyhole surgery (laparoscopy) to reduce pain and improve your fertility.

If you still have difficulty conceiving after surgery, you can talk to your doctor about other options. For example:

the Endometriosis Fertility Index (EFI) – to help predict natural or assisted pregnancy
in vitro fertilisation (IVF) – if your gynaecologist has assessed your endometriosis and recommends the treatment.

If you decide to try fertility treatment, it’s important to get support. Most IVF units have counsellors who will support you throughout the assessment and treatment process. Counselling before fertility treatment can help you to:

prepare for the emotional journey ahead
discuss your feelings
cope with any unsuccessful treatments or miscarriages
cope with other people's pregnancies and births.

Does pregnancy cure endometriosis?

Pregnancy does not cure endometriosis, but symptoms may improve because you don’t have periods during pregnancy. Hormone changes during pregnancy may also improve symptoms.

Read Melissa’s story about the pain and frustration that comes with having endometriosis.

Some women continue to experience pain through their pregnancy. But most women with endometriosis have a normal, uncomplicated pregnancy.

After delivery

Some women find their endometriosis symptoms improve or go away after giving birth. But for many women, endometriosis symptoms come back after they stop breastfeeding and their period returns. It's important to continue with medical care for your endometriosis after your baby is born.

This content has been reviewed by a group of medical subject matter experts, in accordance with Jean Hailes policy.

Giudice LC, Kao LC. Endometriosis. Lancet. 2004 Nov 13-19;364(9447):1789-99. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(04)17403-5

Counsellor VS. Endometriosis. A clinical and surgical review. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1938;36:877

Maheux-Lacroix S, Nesbitt-Hawes E, Deans R, et al. Endometriosis fertility index predicts live births following surgical resection of moderate and severe endometriosis. Human Reproduction. 2017;32(11):2243-2249. doi:10.1093/humrep/dex291

Leone Roberti Maggiore U, Ferrero S, Mangili G, et al. A systematic review on endometriosis during pregnancy: diagnosis, misdiagnosis, complications and outcomes. Hum Reprod Update. 2016;22(1):70-103. doi:10.1093/humupd/dmv045

Horne AW, Missmer SA. Pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of endometriosis. BMJ. 2022;379:e070750. doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-070750

Last updated:

08 April 2025

Last reviewed:

31 March 2025