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Getting Pregnant after Endometriosis

Lida battled chronic pain throughout her teens and twenties, and underwent laparoscopic surgery at age 24 to remove adhesions caused by endometriosis. In order to inhibit the disease’s progression and to preserve her fertility, Lida took continuous hormonal birth control until she and her husband were ready to begin trying to conceive. The endometriosis started to return immediately, but with the help of a minor fertility intervention, Lida was able to conceive after only seven months.

Unmedicated Hospital Birth with Midwives

Once her pregnancy was deemed healthy and low-risk, Lida opted to leave her OB-GYN for the care of midwives within the same hospital-based practice, and she committed to an un-medicated birth. After years of working to achieve a healthy reproductive system with the expert and faithful aid of medical intervention and surgeons, Lida approached pregnancy and birth as a process that doesn’t necessarily require either. Despite an end-of-pregnancy preeclampsia scare and prodromal labor, Lida was able to have a healthy birth without intervention. She credits having battled a disease with readying her for childbirth; not merely because pain prepared her for pain, but because over the years she has learned how to balance asserting her personal agency with releasing control and fear. Lida of course believes that chronic illness isn’t the only vehicle for learning this lesson, and she wishes for all mamas their own version of their best births!

endometriosis getting pregnant

Lida Sunderland Bio

Lida lives with her husband, Mark, their infant son, Rocky, and two fat cats in Washington, DC. Together they love to explore both the city and its greener surrounds. Lida is an art therapist and art educator. She has years of experience promoting mental health in schools, but also works with a broader variety of clientele through private practice. You can learn more about her work at www.lidasunderland.com

Resources

As an art therapist, Lida is a champion of new mamas and mamas-to-be taking charge of their mental health. Although a sleepless night before recording and the gooey-sweet feeling that overcame her while talking about the birth of her son resulted in her failure to mention it, Lida feels deeply indebted to two important resources for her post-partum mental health: a subsidized psychiatric clinic focused on pregnancy and post-partum, and a support group for new moms run by mental health educators. She encourages all to look into similar resources in their communities during their pregnancy journeys.

Expecting Better
Bradley Method
Ina May Gaskin’s Books

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