come in if you have fibroids!

cmrand4

So last pregnancy I got pregnant rather easily, despite having uterine fibroids.  Fibroids were probably quite small cause my OB never detected them at any of my yearly visits.  At 17 weeks prego I was having pain and went to the hospital thinking I was having a miscarriage. So this put me in HR-- Nope, not a MC, thank God, it was just HUGE fibroids degenerating.  So I ended up having a c-section because fibroids caused breech presentation and LO couldn't turn.  Turns out two fibroids grew to over 13 cm and 8 cm during my pregancy. Anyways, anyone have any trouble getting prego with fibroids?  I'm worried that I'll be facing fertility issues now that they're so big.

sunnybrook.

I had three surgeries to remove fibroids. Whether or not they need to be removed depends on where they're located and the size. Anything in the actual uterine cavity (submucosal) can interfere with implantation and cause early loss. The procedure is a simple out patient surgery. It doesn't sound like you have these, but since you're prone to fibroids, you may want to ask for a SHG to check. 

Subserosal fibroids grow on the outside of the uterus and grown outwards. They generally don't impact fertility or pregnancy. 

Intramural fibroids grow within the uterine wall. If they intrude into the endometrial cavity (thereby changing the shape of the uterus), they usually must be removed. The doctors also check the blood supply to make sure that the fibroid would not take everything from the baby. I had a 9cm intramural fibroid and had to have surgery to remove it so that I could get pg. The procedure is similar to a c-section - same type of incision and 3 days in the hospital. We got pg our first cycle trying once it was taken out. 

Some doctors will want to remove large fibroids regardless of their location. Since they often grow when a woman is pg, they are competing for space with the baby. If the blood supply is cut off and they start to degenerate, it is really painful (as you know!). The pain can cause PTL.

You probably should have a consultation with your OB or with a RE before ttc. They need to look into how large they are and where they're located before they give you the gp ahead to ttc. It can be very confusing and overwhelming. Please let me know if you have any questions. GL!

UTKD

I have seven fibroids.  I never knew I had them until they were discovered at my 7w u/s when I was having some pelvic pain.  I got PG really easily. My peri keeps an eye on their growth b/c of the same issues you mentioned, PTL, taking up too much space, etc. 

Both my peri and my OB tell me that they will shrink back to normal after I give birth.  My OB says she does not plan to remove any if I have a c-s b/c removing them could cause complications with bleeding.  She says whether I have them removed before my next PG depends on how they affect this PG.  If they don't pose a problem with this PG, she suggests that I just leave them alone.