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Endometriosis is not good news for any woman of a child-bearing age. It was certainly not for
this Utah resident who had always dreamt of having a baby. And this is because
with this type of female reproductive condition, the chances of having a
healthy baby usually plummet to almost zero. Here is why:
Endometriosis as a condition affecting the female reproductive system
Endometriosis is a condition that causes the cells of the lining
of the uterus to grow on other parts of the reproductive system. When this
happens, tissues start forming where they shouldn’t. This usually affects a woman's chances of not only conceiving, but also of carrying the pregnancy to its full term.
Endometriosis and the chances of getting pregnant
Endometrial tissues can form an unnecessary layer of tissues on
the surface of the uterus and thus interfering with implantation. They can form
in a woman’s fallopian tube, making it difficult for her eggs to travel to the uterus.
They can also form on the ovaries, something that can lead to the formation of
ovarian cysts that are commonly referred to as chocolate cysts or endometrioid
cysts. The formation of such cysts is usually a guarantee of hormonal
imbalance in a woman. And in case the cysts burst, it can lead to serious complications that may call for the removal of a
woman’s uterus.
So when Ashley Gardner received the news of her endometriosis complication, it was devastating.
Her chances of ever becoming a mother were almost nil. And all it seemed was
that she had been condemned to a lifetime of infertility.
Hope and the eight-year long journey trying to get pregnant
But she had hope. Her husband had hope, too. And so they
decided to try something that might actually help them beat the obstacles that
endometriosis presented in their life.
The endometriosis diagnosis sent them on a campaign. An
eight year campaign to help boost their chances of having kids. They tried a
lot of things. It didn't work. And then they tried fertility treatments. They simply persisted in their
hope of having a family. And they documented it all. Every moment of their battle against the infertility-inducing disease -endometriosis - is
documented in their YouTube Channel.
The pregnancy that came even after an endometriosis diagnosis
And when the news came that she had gotten pregnant not only
with one, not two, not three, but four babies, her husband was there to
document the moment. He took a picture that immediately went viral.
On December 29th, they welcomed the new arrivals to their family.
"Mom and babies are doing incredible!!!" the
family wrote on its Facebook account, A Miracle Unfolding -- Gardner
Quadruplets. "We are so happy with how everything turned out today! The
doctors, nurses, and staff were incredible!! More updates to follow soon!!"
It is a miracle pregnancy and a miracle family
Here is what the statistics show: the chances of this
happening to a normal healthy person is one in 70 million. For someone whose
chances of giving birth were almost zero because of endometriosis, getting two
sets of identical twins is nothing short of a miracle.
