Shannon

Planned Parenthood was the only provider that took my endometriosis seriously. If it weren't for Planned Parenthood, I wouldn't have been able to have a child.

When I was a teenager, I experienced unbearable menstrual pain. I read a magazine article about endometriosis and realized that I had every single symptom on the checklist. Endometriosis is a common health condition affecting about one in 10 women of reproductive age — more than five million American women.

My health care provider said I was too young to have endometriosis, and he told me that what I was experiencing was normal. But I knew something was seriously wrong.

When I was 18, I decided to visit a Planned Parenthood health center, and my provider there confirmed that indeed I was suffering from endometriosis. It was the first time I was taken seriously. The provider was really concerned about my welfare and how I was doing and that just made me feel great. It made all the difference in the world.

The lesions were removed, and Planned Parenthood provided me with Depo-Provera to manage my condition. No copay birth control is an essential tool helping women like me with endometriosis who otherwise would have to live with chronic pain.

But endometriosis sometimes can affect fertility, and it was unclear if I would be able to have children.

Today I am a 37-year-old mother of an adorable little girl. Motherhood has been the singularly most amazing thing in my life. My daughter is truly a gift, and I really have Planned Parenthood to thank for her.