Uterine fibroids refer to a class of benign growths that occur in the womb of a woman. Although they do not pose any fatal effect to the person, their presence might have an impact on fertility. It also risks a woman’s chances of getting pregnant.
Removing these growths before the onset of pregnancy, then, would make for a reasonable decision. Also, undergoing fibroid treatment does pose certain benefits for women during their child-bearing years.
What can Fibroids do to a Person’s Fertility?
It is important to understand that fibroids are a common occurrence. Almost 80% of the entire population of child-bearing women can develop these non-malignant growths during their menopausal years. About 20% would experience them during their teenage to middle age years.
Fibroids, also known as uterine leiomyomas, rarely inhibit a woman’s ability to get pregnant. Removing them altogether is not necessary if the goal is just to increase one’s chances of pregnancy. But, there are certain types of fibroids that can negatively impact one’s ability to conceive a child.
Submocusoal fibroids, those that grow in the uterine cavity, can result in pregnancy loss and infertility. However, these fibroids also occur when other fertility-inhibiting factors are present in the body. As such, a doctor will also have to look at other probable causes if a woman is having trouble getting pregnant.
In most cases, the problem that uterine fibroids or leiomyomas bring are directly linked to their size. If they grow to a certain size, their presence in the uterus could cause some blockage in specific parts. This could result in general discomfort during pregnancy such as the constant need to urinate and temporary abdominal pains.
Pre-Pregnancy Treatment Procedures
Getting fibroids removed during pregnancy often alleviates discomfort as the child is developing in the womb.
Consider these procedures:
Myomectomy – This is the most direct method of removing fibroids. It involves a surgical procedure wherein the growths are manually detached from the uterine cavity and passages. The only risk with this procedure is that it increases the chances of delivery through caesarian section. Also, a woman will have to wait for three months after the procedure before attempting to conceive a child.
Myolysis – Unlike other procedures, this process attacks the food source of fibroids. Using laser or radio frequency beams, the blood vessels that are located near where fibroids typically grow are shrunk. Without blood and nutrients going to them, any existing fibroid would ultimately starve and die.
Medicinal Intervention – Doctors could also prescribe the use of hormonal birth control pills and Gn-RH agonists to patients with uterine fibroids. These medicines can perform a number of tasks including lessening the symptoms of fibroids to regulating ovulation and menstruation which gives rise to their formation in the uterine cavity.
The drawback with this procedure is that one cannot get pregnant through the duration of their usage of these medicines. However, they do improve one’s fertility while preventing the growth of fibroids. In the long term, this would eventually result in a successful pregnancy.