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What We Want You to Know About Fibroids and Fertility
You’re struggling to get pregnant or stay pregnant, and you’re becoming more and more frustrated by the lack of success and answers. Well, you’re certainly not alone in this — worldwide, about 1 in 6 people experience infertility.
The reality is that there are dozens of reasons why people have fertility issues, and getting to the bottom of the problem takes a bit of investigative work.
For example, if you want to figure out whether a gynecologic condition like uterine fibroids is to blame for your infertility, the team here at Tahoe Women’s Care, under the direction of Dr. Gary Willen, pulled together a few points to consider.
Uterine fibroids at a glance
The first point we want to make about uterine fibroids is that they’re incredibly common in women in their reproductive years. About 26 million American women between the ages of 15 and 50 have uterine fibroids.
The good news is that, in most cases, fibroids are benign growths that develop in your uterus, so the growths aren’t associated with cancer.
The not-so-great news is that 15 million women do experience symptoms of uterine fibroids, which can range from discomfort to heavy bleeding — and, yes, infertility is on the list, too.
Fibroids and your fertility
Between 5% and 10% of women who struggle with infertility have uterine fibroids, and this connection is mostly coincidence. Looking at more revealing numbers, uterine fibroids are the sole cause of infertility in only about 2% to 3% of women.
There are several ways fibroids can interfere with your ability to get pregnant, such as:
- Blocking your fallopian tubes
- Changing the shape of your cervix so it’s difficult for sperm to move through
- Changing the uterine shape in a way that impedes sperm access or embryo implantation
- Restricting blood flow to your uterus, which can discourage implantation
It mostly comes down to location and size of the uterine fibroids and whether they might interfere with your ability to get pregnant.
Where uterine fibroids can also hinder fertility is with pregnancy complications. In other words, you might be able to get pregnant, but large or problematically located fibroids might affect embryonic growth.
The bottom line is that it’s uncommon for fibroids to be the sole cause of infertility, but it can certainly happen.
Figuring out whether your fibroids are reducing your fertility
The best way to determine whether uterine fibroids are interfering with your ability to get pregnant (and stay pregnant) is to come see us for an evaluation. A quick ultrasound is often enough to give us a good idea about whether fibroids exist and, if so, their size, number, and location.
If we find that you do have fibroids and they might be problematic in terms of your fertility, we can discuss next steps, such as a minimally invasive surgery to remove the growths and clear the way to pregnancy.
For an expert evaluation of your uterine health, please contact our office in Carson City, Nevada, to set up an appointment.
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