Fibroids in Pregnancy

[wigglesrock]

Hi, am 13 weeks pregnant, went for scan yesterday - all fine but Dr got consultant in for a look at something, she agreed that I have a fibroid - news to me!!.

Never had this mentioned to me before and was wondering if anyone could help me out, give me some more info (3rd pregnancy btw). Know I should have asked more yesterday but tbh was just so delighted baby was there!!
Thanks

I have one. Was there for both pregnancy. It is not a problem unless on the cervix (And even those can move up during pregnancy). It doesn't affect the baby growth. Can make you bleed more easily though in case of CS but not necessarily. (I bled a lot 1st one but not 2nd one).
Most of them tend to disappear during the pregnancy. They have to check though so it doesn't grow (some are hormon dependant). just mention that you have one if you change consultant.
Asked them where it is too.

I had one (two in fact) that was discovered at around the same time in my first pregnancy 4 years ago. That came as news to me too as I'd had no problems or symptoms beforehand. It didn't cause any problems with the pregnancy and I had a normal delivery with no excessive bloodloss. I'm now pregnant with no2 and as yet I've no idea if the fibroids are still there or if they've grown/shurnk. I shall find out at the 20 week scan.

From what I understand, small fibroids are unlikley to cause serious (or any) complications in pregnancy.

I have several very large fibroids (two of them are 11+cm each) and I'm still too early in my pg to know if they may cause difficulties in terms of room for the baby to grow (they're outside the womb, so hopefully that won't be an issue) and delivery. The obstetrician I spoke with at UCH last week suggested there's a greater chance I'll have to deliver via c-section. But again, at just nine weeks, it's too early to tell.

Fibroids are hormone-fuelled, so they tend to grow in pg. If they get so large that they outgrow their blood supply, then they can degenerate, which, from what I've been told, is a savagely painful process (some women have to go on morphine for the pain).

I asked the obstetrician about increased risk of bleeding or miscarriage due to the fibroids and he said that there really isn't any evidence that fibroids affect the chance of either. He said if bleeding or mc occur, some people point to the fibroids in search of a cause, but that doesn't mean they are the cause.

I had some serious pain at about 5 weeks that I assumed was my fibroids. A couple of days on paracematol and lots of sleep took care of it, and I've been fine for the past few weeks (except for steady mild nausea).

So I guess you really need to talk to your doctor/mw again and find out how large the fibroid is and where it's located. Hopefully it's small and won't be a problem. Good luck!

I have a few, the largest is about 10x10cm. new about them before because they cause me sometimes discomfort.
2 pregnancies without problems.
you might get an extra scan to see if they are blocking the exit.

congrats on your pregnancy, OP!

I am 28 weeks and have a fibroid. At my last scan it measured about 15cm, but that was at 20 weeks, so am having another scan next week to see how much it has grown.

Baby has not been affected by it at all and I have no pain. However my uterus / fundus is much higher than it should be at this stage of pregnancy which means that I have been suffering from shortness of breath and quite a lot of heartburn. (helped a lot by gaviscon, sometimes ranitidine, which reduces the acid, and also raising the head of the bed, so using gravity to reduce the reflux.)

I have been told I need a C-section (although the fibroid is quite high up and not blocking my cervix), but I am in france where they do tend to be ultra cautious.

I saw an obstetrician in the the UK who said that given the position of the fibroid I would be fine to give naturally (if I was in the UK.)

General consensus though is that a fibroid is not something to be overly concerned about.