Bindi Irwin on Endometriosis and Questions Around Growing Her Family

Wildlife warrior and mother to 1-year-old Grace, Bindi Irwin is shining a light on the silent battle fought by over 190 million women each day—endometriosis.

Endometriosis affects around 1 in 10 women and is a painful condition in which the tissue that usually lines the uterus grows outside of it, on and around the pelvic and abdominal organs. After more than 10 years of hiding her pain, Irwin opened up about her journey in a raw Instagram post yesterday.

“For 10 years I’ve struggled with insurmountable fatigue, pain & nausea. Trying to remain a positive person and hide the pain has been a very long road. These last 10yrs have included many tests, doctors visits, scans, etc,” Irwin wrote. “A doctor told me it was simply something you deal with as a woman & I gave up entirely, trying to function through the pain. I didn’t find answers until a friend @lesliemosier helped set me on a path of regaining my life. I decided to undergo surgery for endometriosis.”

Irwin went on to explain that while making the decision to go in for surgery was scary, she knew it was the right one because her life was "getting torn apart because of the pain…To those questioning the canceled plans, unanswered messages & absence - I had been pouring every ounce of the energy I had left into our daughter & family.” she noted.

“To cut a long story short, they found 37 lesions, some very deep & difficult to remove, and a chocolate cyst. @seckinmd’s first words to me when I was in recovery were, ‘How did you live with this much pain?’ Validation for years of pain is indescribable,” she said.

Now, on the road to recovery, Irwin notes that she is grateful for the support and love from friends and family but asks that fans reconsider asking about her family plans.”Things may look fine on the outside looking in through the window of someone’s life, however, that is not always the case,” Irwin wrote.

“Please be gentle & pause before asking me (or any woman) when we’ll be having more children. After all that my body has gone through, I feel tremendously grateful that we have our gorgeous daughter. She feels like our family’s miracle,” she added.

Irwin noted that she was “aware of millions of women struggling with a similar story.” Several other stars, from Chrissy Teigen to Emma Bunton, have opened up about their own endometriosis struggles over the past few years.

“There’s stigma around this awful disease. I’m sharing my story for anyone who reads this and is quietly dealing with pain and no answers,” Irwin wrote. “Let this be your validation that your pain is real & you deserve help. Keep searching for answers. EndoFound.org.”

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