fibroids in pregnancy - is it ok or not?

[baskingseals]

ji, i am posting on behalf of a friend in a tricky situation, if anyone has any experience or advice, i would be extremely grateful.

basically she is 6 weeks pregnant and she has a 10cm fibroid. if she continues with the pregnancy she will need to be constantly monitored and the baby will probably not go to term. i think she is scared. the baby was not planned.

any ideas?

Who said she'll need monitoring and won't go to term? Has she been googling? How long has she had this fibroid?

I only ask this as I was told at a 7 wk scan that I had a 10cm fibroid. MW told me it would probably grow, it could starve baby of nutrients, could shrink dramatically leading to horrific pain in 2nd timester and I'd almost certainly end up having a hysterectomy. Which was nice and not at all inflammatory.

Then, of course, I went home and googled (though I know it's the most idiotic thing to do ever).

Then finally, I went to see my gp who was very nice to me. Basically, all those things could happen but the most likely outcome (as I've never suffered from them before) was that it would either stay the same size or shrink.

When I went back for my 12 week scan it had disappeared totally. Now nearly 28 wks and still no sign of it.

I'm guessing a conversation with a specialist might help but don't throw all hope out of the window yet.

thank you so much.
it was a nurse who told her.
so pleased you had a positive outcome.
good luck and congratulations

Thank you.

Please tell your friend that hospitals see (generally) the worst cases so their views are slightly coloured towards disaster.

She needs a second opinion really quite soon to stop any unnecessary worrying. All the things I mentioned can happen but are really quite rare. Worrying constantly will only serve to make what should be an enjoyable time more stressful than it usually is anyway.

Nurses (not all of them) sometimes seem to have received sensitivity by-passes IME!

When I went for my 12 week scan, I had several fibroids, I was really surprised as it was my 3rd pregnancy and hadn't had them in previous pregnancies. Like buttonmoon they had completely disappeared at 20 week scan. Never reappeared for the rest of the pregnancy - I drove myself slightly mad imagining complications in labour etc. Hope all goes well.

hi, your friend needs to be closely monitored by an experienced obstetritian. if she wants a second opinion and you guys are in london, she should see dr katrina erskine at portland hospital

thanks wriggles
i feel like phoning now to give her a bit of reassurance. it's so hard to know what to say when you have no idea what you are talking about. her situation really isn't straightforward, thank you both so much for giving some clarity.

thanks lily, we're not in london, but that's helpful to know a name

Hi

I had (have ??) fibroids. One was 12cm, one 10cm, one 8cm and several other smaller ones. When I was pregnant with dd, the consultant told me that (I quote) "he would be amazed if I went beyond 32 weeks". We were all geared up for a small, premature baby and out popped dd via natural delivery, 1 day before her due date weighing 9lb 12 oz !

I was regularly monitored and one of my fibroids did degenerate at 22 weeks (which was very painful) but all was fine. Similar sized fibroids were there when I had ds and he too was on time and 10lb 5oz.

Fibroids are really very common and whilst they can cause problems in some cases (with me, I had several early mc's before my successful pregnancies), quite often, they cause no ill effects.

thank you tilly.
it's great hearing these positive experiences. it is her third pregnancy - no problems with previous 2.

How old is your friend baskingseals ? Fibroids become more common as you get older. I think its 1 in 3 (possibly 1 in 4) women over 35 have fibroids

I have 2 fibroids of 4cm and 7cm which only showed up on first scan as baby was sitting between them. At 20wks they are still there but only noticed as sonographer asked if there was anything I wanted to check and I asked about them. My consultant was v relaxed about them and says they are really common especially in women of African origin and usually don't cause any problems unless they are blocking the baby's exit or you happen to cut into them while doing a C-section because they bleed. I googled and found all the horror stories but also was reassured to learn that they mostly disappear at menopause due to hormonal changes (same reason they grow or shrink in pregnancy) so don't see why hysterectomy likely in future.

I also have a small fibroid which was discovered last September. I thunk mine is only about 3cm, but my mw still referred me to a consultant. I went for my appointment a couple of days ago. The consultant said that they will look for it on my 20 week scan, but it's nothing to worry about. He said it's good to know that you have fibroids in case of bleeding in labour so that they give you injection or something??!! but apart from that unless your fibroid is blocking your birth canal it should be ok. I hope your friend is ok and she gets reassured.

I've got a 10cm fibroid that was discovered at my first scan - they kept an eye on it at all other scans and checked size. Nothing happened, it has stayed the same all the time, and in fact, no one really seems to be concerned at all.

As mentioned, they are really common, and it's more their position than their size that could cause a problem, i.e. if they sit somewhere in the way and could block the birthing process. I'm sure they will monitor your friend and keep checking, but if she is worried, she should really talk to her midwife and/or GP, who should be able to help her!

I have got a 15x10cm fibroid (that I can even feel through my tummy when not pregnant) and a few smaller ones.
2 healthy dc full term
they were looked at closely at the 20w scan and I had an extra scan at 34w. no other extra monitoring.
in my case they streched with the womb but didn*t grow bulky and were not blocking anything important.
normal deliveries but minor pph with the first.

thank you all for your messages, they are very reassuring.
she saw her gp today, who was positive about the pregnancy, so i think that helped.

she is 38, so that could be part of the reason.
this thread really has been extremely helpful - thanks again