Endosurvivors International Foundation (ESIF) has raised alarm on the increasing number of infertility cases in the country.

According to the foundation, about 40 percent of infertility in the country is caused by endometriosis; a gynaecological disease affecting 10 percent of women globally.

The Founder and Executive Director of ESIF, Olivia Nwankudu, who disclosed this during a media parley on the silent infertility menace in the country, explained that endometriosis is a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus and this can cause severe pain in the pelvis and make it difficult to get pregnant adding that it can start at a person’s first menstrual period and last until menopause.

Nwankudu identified pain as one of the symptoms of endometriosis, stressing that the pain mostly starts as menstrual cramps but progresses to chronic pain with the disease progression with four different types of pain during the four phases in a woman’s cycle.

“So many times when a woman has endometriosis, the early stage you’ll be having only menstrual cramps and periodic pain. But as the disease progresses and gets worse, you can have chronic pain,” she said.

Nwankuduemphasised that the disease contributes to infertility in Nigeria adding that a lot of women see chronic menstrual pain as a normal part of their monthly cycle.

She also added that Endometriosis has a lot of psychological effects on women which can affect their productivity and their well-being in general.

She said, “Endometriosis accounts for 40 percent of infertility cases in Nigeria, although we don’t have the specific data yet, I know that we have studies that have shown that about three to four out of 10 females in Nigeria have endometriosis.”

She also highlighted how the disease can affect a woman’s professional life or career, saying, “I know that a lot of women with endometriosis live isolated because they’re always ill, they cannot really compete with healthy people. It affects their work because a lot of times it affects their ability to go to work and such a person will not be committed to relationships.

“She will want to keep to herself, she will not want to mix up easily. Imagine a married woman who is always in pain. She might not even know endometriosis is causing her pain during intercourse. It might influence a marriage or romantic relationships.”

Nwankudu also spoke of the limited awareness of endometriosis and how people easily normalise and neglect those in severe pain during their menstrual period are raising awareness about it because a lot of people don’t even know, many of our parents, many of our uncles and aunts, guardians or] teachers. They just assume that when you’re having pain during your period is normal, but for a lot of endometriosis patients it gets worse over time.

“And for a lot of people, they are stigmatised especially in a family where you are the only one that has menstrual pain. Your sisters don’t have, your cousins don’t have, your mom may not even have so she would probably say things like oh you the only one? And as a young kid, they begin to make the girl feel isolated. She won’t even talk when she is in pain because she feels they will judge her.”

She also talked about the foundation and their goal of reaching as many women and girls as possible in Nigeria and educating them about endometriosis.

She said: “What we are advocating for at Endosurvivors is a treatment that is patient specific. Not just to do a treatment, you want something specific to your needs because yeah there are differences and not everybody has all the symptoms. Some people might have a lot of pain while some people don’t. We give psychological support, emotional support, even financial support and knowledge to patients to help them make better decisions about their health.”

Speaking about the foundation’s plan to create more awareness and educate more people in Nigeria about the disease, Nwankudu highlighted some of the foundation’s objectives and a march around some parts of Lagos in order to reach as many people as possible.