The Hon Ged Kearney MP
Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care
The Albanese Government is providing almost $700,000 to fund new research investigating the impact of endometriosis on women's fertility.
Endometriosis is a painful, often debilitating and incurable condition which affects 1 in 9 Australian women. Sufferers can experience a range of symptoms that impact their daily lives, including severe pelvic pain and struggling to fall pregnant.
Despite affecting so many women, it is not fully understood what impact endometriosis has on women's fertility, implications for fertility treatments, outcomes during pregnancy and for their newborn babies.
This important research will advance our understanding of the condition in order to inform better treatment and care.
The EndoLinked project will study reproductive and maternal outcomes, including the effect of fertility treatments, for Australian women with endometriosis compared with those of women without the condition.
The project will also assess any health impacts for newborn babies born to women with endometriosis and determine if there are any linked issues.
Women with endometriosis often undergo surgery to remove the tissue and cysts which grow on on the ovaries and other organs, sometimes requiring multiple surgeries. The EndoLinked project will compare women who have had surgery with women who have not had surgery, to see if there are different results with fertility treatments.
The EndoLinked project will also inform the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) Endometriosis Clinical Practice Guidelines which will help doctors diagnose and manage endometriosis with their patients. This will more broadly help all women living with endometriosis.
This important investment is from the Australian Government's $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund, is part of the Research Data Infrastructure grant opportunity, which provided more than $12.2 million across five medical research projects.
QUOTES ATTRIBUTABLE TO ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE GED KEARNEY MP
"Endometriosis can lead to crippling physical pain that so many women suffer from in silence. However, we often don't fully appreciate the impact on women's lives being more far-reaching than just pain."
"There is so much we don't know about endometriosis - from fertility issues to the impact on newborn babies. It is essential we develop our understanding in order to improve treatment and care options."
"Endometriosis is underdiagnosed and the experiences of sufferers too often overlooked. Our Government will continue to support increasing the awareness of endometriosis, from diagnosis to care, research to treatment."
