What is uterine endometrial hypoplasia ? We will understand this article.
Under the influence of numerous factors such as stressful situations, the environment, taking medications, women are often exposed to gynecological diseases that impede the ability to become pregnant and have a baby. But there can also be reasons of a physiological nature, one of which is hypoplasia of the uterine endometrium, that is, the underdevelopment of the inner uterine layer lining its surface (it is also the endometrium). Its main function is to create an optimal environment for implantation of a blastocyst in the uterine cavity.
What is this fraught with?
This issue should be considered in more detail.
If a woman has thinning of the endometrium, that is, hypoplasia, implantation is not carried out, the cell, in principle, is not able to gain a foothold in such a thin tissue. A woman in this case is diagnosed with infertility. To successfully fix the embryo in the uterine cavity, the endometrium must have a thickness of at least seven millimeters. If the patient has hypoplasia, then there is a chance of implantation, but the attachment can be characterized by a lack of strength, and such a pregnancy may stop developing in the future.
The essence of pathology
The medical term "endometrial hypoplasia" in Latin means poor development, insufficient formation. Thus, these are very small sizes of the organ, which do not correspond to normal values:
- in a nulliparous patient - 7 cm;
- in a woman giving birth - 8 cm;
- uterine neck - 2.5 cm;
- the thickness of the mucous layer, that is, the endometrium, is 7 mm.
Deviations from the norm within one centimeter are also allowed. In other cases, we can talk about pathology requiring treatment.
It should be borne in mind that this body includes various parts and departments, any of which may not be formed sufficiently. That is why the following diagnoses are distinguished:
- hypoplasia of the uterine body, i.e. the entire cavity;
- hypoplasia of the cervix is not put, since this is a consequence of the first type of hypoplasia, that is, the stages of one process in the body;
- hypoplasia of the uterine mucosa, or endometrium, stands apart, since it is the thinning of the upper layer, and the embryo, in turn, is attached to it; such a disease is much easier to treat.
There are also situations when endometrial and uterine hypoplasia are simultaneously diagnosed. This greatly complicates the entire treatment process, and reduces the chances of a woman to successfully conceive and further bear the baby. But with regular medical supervision and the passage of the entire therapeutic course, you can still give birth. It depends on the degree of underdevelopment and lack of form of this body (there are three in total).
Interestingly, in medicine there can be not only uterine hypoplasia, but also other organs - the ear, cerebellum, left heart, teeth, thyroid gland, vertebral artery.
Degrees of disease
Subsequent predictions for the patient will be determined by the degree of uterine hypoplasia in her will be detected. There are three of them, and each of them has differences in the size of the organ.
The most serious pathology is endometrial hypoplasia of the first degree (medical workers also call it rudimentary, fetal, germinal). The size of the cavity is not higher than three centimeters and is formed only by the neck, while the body of the organ remains undeveloped. This form cannot be cured. The predictions for future pregnancies are disappointing. It is the cause of infertility and amenorrhea, that is, the absence of critical days.
Much more often, women are diagnosed with endometrial hypoplasia of the second degree, called differently infantile or childish. Its dimensions range from three to five centimeters. The body refers to the neck as 1 to 2. Therapy is possible, but it is quite complex, lengthy, there is no one hundred percent guarantee of recovery. There are chances for a future conception, but it is far from being possible to fully bear a child in all cases.
It is less problematic for the patient if I diagnose third degree hypoplasia, that is, adolescent. Its dimensions (from 5 to 7 cm) allow you to conceive a child and endure it, but there must be proper care and appropriate therapy.
The main symptoms of uterine hypoplasia are its sizes that deviate from the norm. They are detected during a gynecological examination, after which they are confirmed by ultrasound and analysis of the degree of sex hormones in the body. The disease may also be accompanied by some external symptoms.
Causes of pathology
Hypoplasia of the uterine endometrium can be congenital in nature, when normal embryonic development is impaired due to the influence of various adverse factors during a woman’s pregnancy or due to genetic abnormalities. But most often, such a disease appears throughout life. Of particular danger is the puberty of girls, in which, due to a number of reasons, the correct development of the uterus is impossible. Among the main reasons, experts single out:
- infectious, toxic and traumatic damage to the central nervous system;
- various stressful situations: family and school conflicts, emotional upheaval due to teenage first love;
- a number of diseases: epilepsy, liver or kidney failure, heart disease, diabetes, hypothyroidism, hyperprolactinemia;
- pituitary or hypothalamic tumors that disrupt the production of sex hormones;
- ovarian tumors and their underdevelopment;
- childhood infections such as mumps, measles rubella;
- unbalanced, poor and defective diet, diet;
- alcoholism, smoking, drug addiction, prolonged use of psychotropic drugs;
- in childhood, ovarian surgery;
- high physical exertion in children, especially in girls who went into sports early;
- chronic infectious diseases;
- heredity.
Since the disease in most cases takes root even in adolescence and childhood, parents should consider all these possible causes of endometrial hypoplasia. In the absence of a congenital pathology, it is necessary to protect the baby from them as much as possible. If there is the slightest suspicion, you should go to the gynecologist. With timely treatment of uterine hypoplasia, it is possible to become pregnant and then fully bear the child. Judging by the diagnosis, there are no difficulties, all errors are excluded.
Signs
In most cases, the disease does not appear immediately, and the pathology is eventually diagnosed by chance. The following characteristics of uterine endometrial hypoplasia are:
- Late onset of critical days (after sixteen years).
- Abnormalities in the menstrual cycle. Often there is soreness during menstruation, the cycle is irregular, the bleeding is short, scarce, sometimes even to blood clotting. In some cases, bloody menstrual flow can also be profuse, which can cause anemia.
- Anorgasmia, that is, the lack of orgasm.
- Insufficient hair covering of intimate places.
- Narrow pelvis for anatomical reasons.
- Weak expression of secondary sexual characteristics.
Hypoplasia and pregnancy
If the patient has a thin endometrium, then such a structure affects the conception, and later on the bearing and birth of the baby. Among the defects in reproductive function, the following are noted:
- ectopic pregnancy, which is due to the presence of a woman with sinuous and long tubes in the uterus;
- infertility;
- severe toxicosis;
- miscarriages;
- low labor activity during childbirth, insufficient disclosure of the cervix during childbirth;
- heavy bleeding after childbirth.
Treatment of endometrial hypoplasia
Before starting treatment, a serious diagnosis is necessarily carried out, including such procedures as:
- a blood test for hormone levels by 20-22 days of its cycle (progesterone, luteotropic, follicle-stimulating);
- uterine biopsy;
- Ultrasound analysis to assess the thickness of the endometrium.
Hormone therapy
The main treatment is hormonal, the purpose of which depends on the degree of manifestation of hypoplasia, as well as its causes.
With thin endometrium, estrogen is prescribed in large doses and aspirin in small doses. Also, the obstetrician-gynecologist can additionally send for physiotherapy procedures carried out with a break, courses. The following physiotherapeutic methods are used:
- laser therapy;
- heat treatment, that is, ozokeritotherapy;
- the effect of alternating current on the skin, i.e. diathermy.
How to treat endometrial hypoplasia with alternative methods?
Folk remedies
Alternative treatment methods such as acupuncture and hirudotherapy help to improve the supply of blood to the pelvis. It helps prevent alleged thinning and contributes to its buildup.
Useful are compresses on the lower abdomen from natural clay.
To normalize blood supply and an increase in the endometrium, sage can be used very effectively.
It must be remembered that hypoplasia is a rather serious disease that requires long-term treatment. The most important thing is to contact a specialist as soon as possible in order to choose the required treatment course.
Endometrial hypoplasia reviews
Although uterine hypoplasia is not the most comforting diagnosis regarding pregnancy and its further gestation, its successful outcome is possible only with full confidence in the specialists, as well as the patience of the woman. Currently, such a disease (except for the first degree) is treatable, which is confirmed by numerous reviews and stories of future and held mothers on the forums.
The main thing is that the treatment of uterine endometrial hypoplasia is timely and comprehensive.