A new Canadian study has found that people with endometriosis may be at a slightly higher risk of giving birth to babies with birth defects.
The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, analyzed 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 birth defect, compared to 5.4 percent of mothers without the condition.
Dr. Olga Bougie said the increase in risk was small but important because this is the first Canadian study to examine health outcomes in children associated with endometriosis.
“Endometriosis used to really be a ‘bad period’ condition, but it has such a bigger impact throughout 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 don’t know exactly why the increased risk exists and whether inflammation, fertility treatments or the condition itself is responsible.
Endometriosis affects approximately one million people in Canada.
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