Below I list some of the most common and, I believe, some of the most disconcerting myths about endometriosis, all of which are false. ​

1. It affects only women – FALSE

2. It only affects women over 20 years old - FALSE

3. It only affects women who have never given birth - FALSE

4. It disappears with pregnancy - FALSE

5. It only affects the female reproductive system - FALSE

6. It disappears if we remove the uterus - FALSE

7. It disappears during menopause - FALSE

8. The level of pain corresponds to the stage of the disease - FALSE​

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1. It only affects women

FALSE. Although extremely rare, there are cases of men who have developed endometriosis. Particularly, men who have taken hormone therapy with oestrogens to treat prostatic cancer and men with liver cirrhosis [1]. 

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2. Only affects women over 20

FALSE. Teenagers also have endometriosis! Endometriosis is the main cause of dysmenorrhea (menstrual pain) in adolescents. In fact, studies indicate that endometriosis can form even before menarche and that 66% of adult women with endo report having had symptoms before the age of 20 [2]. 

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3. It only affects women who have never given birth

FALSE. This is a prejudice that only began to dissolve in the mid-1990s! For many years, doctors and researchers postulated that endo affected “career women,” i.e., those who delayed motherhood [3]. 

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4. Disappears with pregnancy

FALSE. Pregnancy decreases oestrogen production. Therefore, during pregnancy, the condition improves. However, it returns with the normalisation of hormone production. On the other hand, “complications during pregnancy are more frequent in women with endometriosis: premature birth, placenta previa, babies with lower weight at birth”… [4].

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