Q. Do fibroids affect pregnancy or your ability to get pregnant?

Answer: One of the principal concerns for women with uterine fibroids is that they may inhibit fertility or make pregnancy impossible.

Although uterine fibroids can make it difficult to become pregnant or to maintain a pregnancy, the majority of women never have any problems.

Once a pregnancy is established, existing fibroids may grow in size because of the increased blood flow and higher estrogen levels. Such fibroids normally  return to their original size after the baby has been delivered.

Having fibroids in the muscle walls of the uterus or on the outside does not usually interfere with fertility. But having fibroids in one place does indicate that you are susceptible to them and may also get them inside the uterus, which does lessen fertility.

Age is also a factor. It is estimated that 20-50% of women have, or will have, fibroids at some time in their lives. They are rare in women under the age of 20, most common in women in their 30s and 40s, and tend to shrink after menopause.

So the younger you are, the less of a problem fibroids are likely to be in becoming and staying pregnant.

Also, one of the ways to get rid of fibroids is by way of surgery. About one third of all hysterectomies are performed because of fibroids. This obviously lowers the fertility of the patient to zero, which must be considered before using this method to cure fibroids.