fibroids and pregnancy

[MichaelaS]

Hi all

Has anyone else had experience of fibroids in pregnancy? I'm 9+5 today and have had some spotting on and off for the last 2-3 weeks. I got worried and went in for an early scan - luckily everthing was fine with the baby and they could see a heartbeat, but they did find 3 fibroids.

1 is fairly large (6 x 5 cm) but outside the uterus. 2 more are smallish (2x2.5cm) but very near the pregnancy site. They will have to watch to make sure they dont' steal nutrients from the baby apparently. Also, this will put me at higher risk of caesarian.

A search of the internet shows varying opinions, most say fibroids grow in pregnancy but others have experienced them shrinking or even disappearing altogether.

What have your experiences been? What should I expect? Am I going to have a huge bump if I'm growing 1 baby and 3 fibroids? any advice?

Hi MichaelaS,
First thing is not to worry lots of women get pregnant with fibroids and never have any problems with their pregnancy or delivery. Fibroids are unlikely to shrink during pregnancy but often become less easy to see as the uterus and baby get bigger!The pregnancy hormones have a tendency to cause the fibroids to grow in size during the pregnancy and when this growth is very rapid the fibroids can out-strip their blood supply causing acute pain for you but no harmful effects for the baby. Very large fibroids lying close to the cervix in late pregnancy can however sometimes cause delivery problems as they obstruct the baby's passage into the birth canal and this is where the likelihood for CSection arises. Such fibroids are typically 6-12 cm in size. I would not be overtly concernedy as your large fibroid is on the outside of the uterus and unlikely to obstruct your labour although it could grow and cause some discomfort. The 2 other fibroids you mention are relatively small and are unlikely to be a problem. Women who have multiple large fibroids (some will have 6-7 of them each measuring ~7-10cm!) can run the risk of impaired placental nutrition of the baby leading to growth problems, but to be honest this is very rare. The one other risk with fibroids is that they can sometimes lead to heavier bleeding straight after the birth. So long as your Obstetricians are aware of the problem they should keep an eye on the baby's growth with some additional growth scans during the latter part of the pregnancy. But honestly don't worry about it they are very common and often cause little or no problems!

Hi,

I had fibroids during my last pregnancy, although only found out about them when the ob doing my em cs leaned over the curtain and asked me if I knew I had the most massive fibroids...oh right!

They didn't cause me any harm, although I suspect they were a factor in both my having to have an emcs and in the difficulty of getting dd out during the cs. Purely anecdotal and personal experience here, but I know they are fairly common! My friend had one that weighed 8.5lbs when she had her first baby, her dd was only 6.5lbs! Again, all ok, and she is now pg with no 2.

thanks for the info and support - lets hope mine don't cause problems - i'll try and stop worrying but i'm beign a typical first time pg woman and stressing over everything!

Like Esme, I didn't know about mine till the surgeon found them during my emergency cs!

Mine didn't cause me any obvious problems in pregnancy, although in retrospect that's why I was the size of a house. People kept asking me if I was having twins.

They did cause problems during labour however, and stopped the baby descending so I ended up with an emergency cs. The baby wasn't engaged even after 23 hours of full-on contractions because the fibroids were blocking the route down.

It all depends on the size of the fibroids and their position. One of mine was about 5cm by 6cm and near the cervix, but at the back so invisible on scans.

They nearly always get bigger in pregnancy I'm afraid, because they increase in size with pregnancy hormones. But don't worry - one third of women have them, and most women with fibroids manage to have babies with no problems.

I had a small one in my second pregnancy, they found it at 7 weeks and it disappeared by 12 weeks.

I have 3, found in infertility investigations (which is a whole 'nother story), but all small. They had not changed a jot by the 20 week scan, I expect I had them in my first pg too, and had no problems with pg or delivery because of them. So not always bad news!

I'm a tad late with my response and hope that MichaelaS and everyone are all doing well with their little ones!
I'm in month 5 and have 3 fibroids, one large one next to the cervix. My doc has already determined that I should have a c-section, which is alright by me, though I wouldn't mind the choice! Don't know whether it's been helpful, but I've gone on a strict organic diet with meats, eggs, dairy,... to potentially reduce any extra hormone intake. Fruits & veggies I'm not as strict with b/c I figure the water in them leaves the system faster. Hope it slows down the growth of these buggers (though I think the baby has finally outgrown them!)

They also found a fibroid during my dating scan, but no one seemed to be worried about it at all. I think as long as they know about it and keep an eye on it, everything should be fine!

i also have a large fibroid 10x10ish cm. now preg with baby no4 and have no real problems. it is at the top of uterous so not in the way, but can always see it, people think they see the head! I have to have a late scan to make sure baby is head down, coz last labour baby was wrong way and only realised after 25 hours! if have to have c section then maybe it will be removed but wont have specially

I did a lot of research on topic as I have some small ones. You should definitely have regular scans (more than 2 on NHS) and be monitored by a qualified specialist, particularly in 2-3 trimester. Dr Katrina Erskine at Portland is very well known for treating women with fibroids in pregnancy / delivering their babies, etc. If you are in London and can afford it, I would definitely go see her. Good luck!

Hi

I'm 24 weeks pregnant and I have quite a large fibroid (around 13cms circular). When I first found out about them (at my 12 week scan) I felt quite low and was worried about everything that could go wrong.

I've spoken to the consultant at the hospital and he's told me that it's quite common for women to have an early labour due to the restricted space in the womb.

I haven't had any related problems so far and I wouldn't say I look any bigger than your average other pregnant woman.

I have asked if it can be removed if I have to have a CS and have been told it's really unlikely due to the extended size of the womb immediately post pregnancy (they bleed a lot apparantly).

My fibroid location is at the top of my womb (but inside the uterus we think - it's hard to tell) so there's a likelihood that I can still have a natural birth but it's likely to press on my diaphragm and make me quite short of breath towards the end.

I'm booked in for another scan at 36 weeks, they will assess my level of discomfort then, if I'm okay then that's great. If I'm uncomfortable then I will either be induced (if the baby's in the right position), or have a C-section.

I hope this helps, sorry I can't offer you advice, I can only really give you an account of what I've been told. My 20 week scan showed that bubba is normal size and everything's devloped as it should, I think it's quite common.