Endometriosis linked to small increase in birth defect risk in Canadian study

A new Canadian study has found that people with endometriosis may face a slightly higher risk of giving birth to babies with congenital anomalies.

The research, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, analysed more than 1.4 million births in Ontario between 2006 and 2021.

Researchers found that 6.3 percent of babies born to mothers with endometriosis had a congenital anomaly, compared with 5.4 percent among mothers without the condition.

Dr. Olga Bougie said the increase in risk was small but important because it is the first Canadian study to examine infant health outcomes linked to endometriosis.

“Endometriosis really used to be a condition of ‘bad periods,’ but it has such a bigger impact across the lifespan of these patients,” Bougie told CTVNews.ca.

The study linked endometriosis to a slightly increased risk of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, genital and musculoskeletal birth defects, including cleft palate and pulmonary artery stenosis.

Bougie said researchers still do not know exactly why the increased risk exists and whether inflammation, fertility treatments or the condition itself are responsible.

Endometriosis affects around one million people in Canada.