Pregnancy with fibroid uterus may be a concern and may not, to be pregnant you need your hormones to be at a level to express the uterus or the womb to the upcoming fetus and so, your fibroids will grow too.
It is very difficult to try to have surgery for the fibroid when you are pregnant, and before talking about Pregnancy with fibroid uterus, we must know some key concepts to be in full understanding of what will be written.
What is the uterus
The uterus is a female muscular organ, being a muscle it consists of layers mainly three layers named (from internal portion to its external portion) Endometrium, myometrium, and perimetrium.
Endometrium
It is a two-layer part of the uterus, it contains a thin layer which is its base (think of it as a department and that is the floor), and a thick layer that maintains its purpose and so-called stratum functionalis (from function) which serves as the main part of the female monthly cycle.
Myometrium
Myo from the Greek means (Muscle) and metrium means (uterus) so, it is obvious that it means the smooth muscle of the uterus (smooth in small words means unwilling or uncontrollable muscles) which contracts during childbirth.
Perimetrium
Peri from the Greek language means (surround) and metrium as above (uterus), Around the uterus, it is the most outer layer of the uterus, and its function is to maintain the shape and the function of the uterus (imagine it as a coat to your big television to protect it from breaking).
A map
Being a hollow structure from the inside, the uterus is a map you can understand, its other parts (which will be considered here) are as follows,
The fundus (from Latin bottom or base) is the part opposite to the opening of the uterus (the vagina) or in other words, it is the top of the uterus.
The corpus (meaning the body from Latin) is the body of the uterus and its main part.
The cervix is the compressed part of the uterus (or from a map, it is the lowest part of the uterus).
The uterus is located between the bladder and the rectum and so its examination is done through that location and the feeling of something big in the uterus is a feeling between the bladder and the rectum.
A pain in the uterus usually radiates or is felt in your back.
Pregnancy with fibroid uterus is a concern and not, as we talked about earlier, fibroid is a tumor (tumor means expanded growth of a muscle) located in the uterus (in any part of the uterus) which isn’t cancer.
Fibroids’ problems are held by their sizes, locations, and numbers. So, Pregnancy with fibroid uterus sometimes isn’t a problem and you can have your pregnancy without any challenges.
It is estimated that from 1 to 10 in 100 pregnant women, have uterine fibroids. The size of the uterine fibroids ranges from smaller than a pea size to the size of a ball like a basketball.
Fibroids harmful effects
Depending on the size, location, and number, Pregnancy with fibroid uterus can be harmful for the mother and the baby.
For the baby
Having a range of large fibroids can impair the growth of your baby as the induction of an abnormal placenta.
The placenta is the opening for oxygen and food for your baby so, what if it is shedded away from your baby before delivery?
Fibroids can tear the placenta away and that is called placental abruption which is the shedding away of the placenta from the fetus before birth.
It can also change the location of the placenta to be above the cervix (namely placenta previa) which blocks the gate for the baby to go outside his mother’s uterus.
Limiting the space inside something makes it worse, fibroids can decrease the space inside the uterus for the upcoming fetus, making it difficult for him to be head down in the uterus to go away safely from that space in his time. so, the baby’s butt or feet will face the cervix.
Women who have a Pregnancy with fibroid uterus (large fibroids) are more prone to have miscarriages (the loss of her baby before week 20 in the pregnancy estimates the full pregnancy to be 37 to 40 weeks).
It can cause a delivery before week 37 of pregnancy which is called premature or preterm delivery.
For the mother
The large fibroids can block the complete dilation of the cervix so, Pregnancy with fibroid uterus increases the need for the cesarean section (the opening of the mother’s abdomen to get the baby out).
Bleeding and pain during the first trimester (as the first trimester holds more estrogen and the fibroids need it for their growths, the fibroids grow more in that time and their symptoms of pain and bleeding occur).
Contraction of the uterus after birth makes blood loss very unlikely.
Pregnancy with fibroid uterus may block the full contraction of the uterus and make the blood loss more likely which is in that case an emergency case for the pregnant called (the postpartum hemorrhage) which happened during the first 48 hours after the birth event.
The treatment of the Pregnancy with fibroid uterus
Treatment of the Pregnancy with fibroid uterus is not done during the pregnancy, it is done after it by at least six months.
Options of treatment
The fibroids naturally reduce in size after birth.
There are many options which include medications, surgery, and starvation. The medication function is to shrink the size of the fibroid (and so the starving), the surgery is to remove it and all those options depend on the case and the need to be pregnant again.
Medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs can cause the fibroid to shrink in size.
Surgery such as Myomectomy (the surgical removal of the fibroid) in women who want to be pregnant again is safe and needs about six weeks to recover after the surgery.
Hysterectomy (which is the removal of the uterus) and that in case you don’t want to be pregnant again and if the fibroids reduce your activities significantly.
While the starving technique can increase the chance of the adherence of the placenta to the uterus, it is very safe and done by blocking the blood flow to the fibroid mass making them shrink by 40 to 60%.
Some techniques to know if there is Pregnancy with fibroid uterus
As we stated above Pregnancy with fibroid uterus is not of big concern, it can be seen through an ultrasound imaging or magnetic resonance imaging technique for a more detailed image, and although because of bleeding it can be felt through a routine Complete blood count.
Summary
Pregnancy with fibroids uterus can happen to any woman of bearing age, it happens in 1 to 10 %, It isn't moved during pregnancy it is shrunk naturally after the pregnancy.
It's all wait and watch for the ultrasound to know if there is any harm from the fibroids.
The multiple and large fibroids can change the placental location in the uterus and, the position of the fetus, they can lead to miscarriage and preterm birth, and they can cause pain and bleeding in pregnant women during the first trimester.
Options of treatment such as medications, starvation, and surgery depend on the female who wants to be pregnant again, and the pain severity and impairment of the female itself.
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