Olivia Culpo's pregnancy is highlighting the model's yearslong battle with endometriosis and the impact the disease can have on fertility. The
former Miss Universe from Rhode Island revealed that she is pregnant with her first child with
husband Christian McCaffrey in a series of Instagram posts Monday. Culpo, a
Cranston native , has been open over the years about her struggle with endometriosis, which is a painful disease that occurs when tissue grows outside the uterus. "I have been in agony for years around my period and I was misdiagnosed countless times by doctors," she wrote in a 2020
Instagram post about her endometriosis.
What is endometriosis?
According to the
Mayo Clinic , endometriosis is a disease in which tissue that is similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It usually affects the ovaries, fallopian tubes and the tissue lining the pelvis. The disease can cause painful periods, excessive bleeding or pain with bowel movements. Some endometriosis cases can be treated with surgery, during which the affected tissue is removed, according to the
Cleveland Clinic. How does endometriosis affect fertility?
The main complication of endometriosis is infertility, or difficulty getting pregnant; up to half of people with endometriosis have a hard time conceiving, according to the
Mayo Clinic. Endometriosis causes infertility because it may block the fallopian tube, which is needed to conceive. It can also damage the sperm or egg during the fertilization process, per the
Mayo Clinic. Sometimes, the condition worsens with time, so some doctors may advise patients to have children as soon as possible.
Olivia Culpo said she went undiagnosed with endometriosis for years
Culpo said on the "
SHE MD" podcast last year that she struggled with excruciating pain for years before being diagnosed with the disease. “The debilitating pain happened and continued to progress as I got older and that’s when it really started to affect my day-to-day life where I really could not function,” she said. “It was the worst pain I’ve ever been in in my entire life.” She said it took a dozen doctors over more than a decade to finally be diagnosed with the condition, in part because many professionals chalked it up to period pain. “I have rectovaginal endometriosis… and they’re like, 'Are you sure you’re wiping correctly? Are you sure that you’re really having these symptoms? Painful periods are normal. No, I can't give you an ultrasound. Let’s just put you on birth control,'" she said. Culpo eventually underwent surgery for the disease in 2020. She shared the experience on
Instagram to raise awareness about the condition, she wrote at the time. "To anyone out there who has endometriosis, I understand the depression, and overall loneliness that can occur with a condition that is so painful yet so hard to be interpreted by other people outside of the body," she wrote. "It’s hard when chronic pain is not validated and you don’t get an answer or understanding."
Culpo previously shared concerns about getting pregnant
The model has also been open about her fertility concerns because of endometriosis. In a 2022 episode of her family's reality show "The Culpo Sisters," Culpo visited her gynecologist for an ultrasound checkup. “I want to have kids, but I want to make sure that I can,” she said. “It could be really hard for me to have babies.” She also said she was worried about the "looming timeline" for her to get pregnant. “There is so much that I don’t know about what’s going to happen in the future with that condition and I worry all the time about my timeline,” she said. “I feel like I have to have kids ASAP.”
Melina Khan is a trending reporter for the USA TODAY Network - New England, which serves more than a dozen affiliated publications across New England. She can be reached at .
