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The risk of pregnancy and neonatal complications in women with endometriosis and adenomyosis is debatable. A literature review looking at rates, presentation, and management of spontaneous hemoperitoneum, enlargement, abscess, and rupture of an endometrioma, uterine rupture, and bowel perforation in pregnant women with endometriosis was conducted. Moreover, studies addressing differences in early pregnancy (miscarriage), late pregnancy (gestational diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia, prematurity, placenta previa, placental abruption, cesarean section, hemorrhages) and neonatal outcomes (weight at birth) between endometriosis and adenomyosis patients versus control subjects were reviewed. The overall prevalence of endometriosis-related spontaneous hemoperitoneum in pregnancy is estimated to be ∼0.4%. Only four cases of endometrioma rupture in pregnancy have been reported. Although during pregnancy there is no way to anticipate the onset of complications from preexisting endometriosis, it is important, when a specific abdominal pain occurs, to suspect rare but potentially life-threating events. Population-based studies suggest a possible association of endometriosis with preterm birth and placenta previa. Limits of the published studies are noted and discussed.

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Growing evidence supports a role of vitamin D (VD) in reproductive health. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is expressed in the ovary, endometrium, and myometrium. The biological actions of VD in fertility and reproductive tissues have been investigated but mainly using animal models. Conversely, the molecular data addressing the mechanisms underlying VD action in the physiologic endometrium and in endometrial pathologies are still scant. Levels of VDR expression according to the menstrual cycle are yet to be definitively clarified, possibly being lower in the proliferative compared to the secretory phase and in mid-secretory compared to early secretory phase. Endometrial tissue also expresses the enzymes involved in the metabolism of VD. The potential anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory effects of VD for the treatment of endometriosis have been investigated in recent years. Treatment of ectopic endometrial cells with 1,25(OH)2D3 could significantly reduce cytokine-mediated inflammatory responses. An alteration of VD metabolism in terms of increased 24-hydroxylase mRNA and protein expression has been demonstrated in endometrial cancer, albeit not consistently. The effect of the active form of the vitamin as an anti-proliferative, pro-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, and differentiation-inducing agent has been demonstrated in various endometrial cancer cell lines.

Two strategies of group culture gave similar results in terms of blastulation rate but the random grouping of zygotes improves pregnancy and implantation rates in IVF-cycles.

In vitro fertilization can be an effective tool to manage the endometriosis-associated infertility, which accounts for 10% of the strategy indications. Nevertheless, a negative effect of endometriosis on IVF outcomes has been suggested. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential effect of endometriosis in the development of embryos at cleavege stage in assisted reproduction treatment cycles. A total of 429 cycles from women previously operated for moderate/severe endometriosis were compared with 851 cycles from non-affected women. Patients were matched by age, number of oocyte retrieved and study period. A total of 3818 embryos in cleavage stage have been analyzed retrospectively. Overall, no difference was found between women with and without endometriosis regarding the number of cleavage stage embryos obtained as well as the percentage of good/fair quality embryos. Excluding cycles in which no transfers were performed or where embryos were frozen in day three, no difference was observed for blastulation rate or the percentage of good/fair blastocysts obtained. Despite similar fertilization rate and number/quality of embryos, a reduction in ongoing pregnancy rate was observed in patients affected, possibly due to an altered endometrial receptivity or to the limited value of the conventional morphological evaluation of the embryo.

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