Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38037049›Full record

ArticleBMC women's health2023

Patient experiences of being advised by a healthcare professional to get pregnant to manage or treat endometriosis: a cross-sectional study.

Diksha Sirohi, Sylvia Freedman, Lesley Freedman, Gretchen Carrigan, Alison J Hey-Cunningham, M Louise Hull, Rebecca O'Hara

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC women's health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
4.4field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. How Women with Endometriosis Use Social Media for Support and Self-Management: An Analysis of Reddit Content.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Supportive Care Needs of Young Adults With Endometriosis: An Open-Ended Online Survey and Exploration of Unmet Needs.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024
    Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Diksha SirohiRobinson Research Institute, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Ground Floor, 55 King William Road, North Adelaide, SA, Australia. d.sirohi@uqconnect.edu.au.ORCID 0000-0003-4485-7877
Sylvia Freedman, EndoActive, 16 Pashley St, Balmain, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Lesley Freedman, EndoActive, 16 Pashley St, Balmain, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Gretchen CarriganCentral Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
Alison J Hey-CunninghamCentral Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
M Louise HullRobinson Research Institute, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Ground Floor, 55 King William Road, North Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Rebecca O'HaraRobinson Research Institute, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Ground Floor, 55 King William Road, North Adelaide, SA, Australia.
The University of Adelaide · AUThe University of Sydney · AUNSW Department of Education · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is a lack of evidence that pregnancy reduces endometriotic lesions or symptoms, however studies indicate that people with endometriosis are commonly advised to get pregnant to manage or treat endometriosis. This study sought to examine the impact of this advice on patients with endometriosis when the advice was provided by healthcare professionals.

methodsThe Endometriosis Patient Experience Survey was a self-reported, community-based, cross-sectional online survey of people who had been medically diagnosed with endometriosis. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the quantitative survey data and thematic analysis was undertaken for the qualitative survey data.

results1892 participants had received the advice to get pregnant or have a baby to manage or treat their endometriosis, with 89.4% of participants receiving this advice from healthcare professionals. In exploring the qualitative data, seven themes were contextualised relating to the impact of this advice in terms of health literacy, accepting the advice, rejecting the advice, major life decisions, healthcare interactions, mental health and relationships.

conclusionsThis study demonstrates profound and often negative patient impacts of the advice from healthcare professionals to get pregnant to manage or treat endometriosis. Impacts ranged from planning for pregnancy, hastening the making of major life decisions, eroding trust with healthcare professionals, worsening mental health and straining relationships. Providing evidence-based information on the treatment and management of endometriosis is essential. Pregnancy or having a baby should not be suggested as a treatment for endometriosis and the provision of this advice by healthcare professionals can have negative impacts on those who receive it.

Indexed as

EndometriosisCross-Sectional StudiesDelivery of Health CareFemaleHumansPatient Outcome AssessmentPregnancySurveys and QuestionnairesEndometriosisFertilityHealthcare professionalsPregnancy

Identifiers

PMID38037049
PMCPMC10688096
OpenAlexW4389197283

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.