Article Sphere Logo

Uterine Fibroids and Infertility

By Expert Author: Eric A. Daiter | Article Abstract
Word Count: 459 words | Views: 238 view(s)
Uterine fibroids are very common occurrences in women. They are also known as myoma or leiomyoma. Uterine fibroids can cause infertility, but not all of the time. Uterine fibroids are benign tumors affecting the uterine muscle tissue. Uterine fibroids are not cancerous tumors, but they can affect fertility, nonetheless.

There are three types of uterine fibroids. Subserosal fibroids grow on the outside of the uterus. They can cause little or no symptoms unless they are severe. They give the uterus a bumpy appearance. Tumors can grow on stalks and they are referred to as pedunculated subserosal fibroids. They can cause back pain, pelvic pain, frequent urination and cramping. If the fibroids grow large, they can affect the kidneys and other surrounding organs. Subserosal fibroids should not cause any infertility issues. However, if they grow large, they can put pressure on fallopian tubes and ovaries, inhibiting their function.

Intramural fibroids are found in the muscle of the uterus. They are usually round in shape and can vary in size from microscopic to enormous. Some can get up to 50 pounds. Intramural fibroids can cause the size of the uterus to enlarge. Intramural fibroids can cause excessive menstrual bleeding, cramping, pelvic and back pain, and prolonged periods. Again, intramural fibroids may not cause any recognizable symptoms and may only be discovered during a vaginal exam or during infertility treatment. Intramural fibroids can cause problems with conception. They can cause problems with implantation or miscarriage.

The submucous fibroid causes the most problems with fertility. They can grow inside of the uterus. They commonly interfere with the uterine lining development and placement. This can cause miscarriage and difficulty with implantation. It can also cause painful periods and excessive bleeding. The submucous fibroid can develop a stalk and the mass can protrude from the stalk into the uterus. The stalk can allow the submucous fibroid to move further into the uterus and sometimes through the cervix and into the vagina. If the tumor grows large, then the uterus may recognize it as a foreign body and contract to expel it. If this happens it can cause severe pain similar to labor pains.

Fibroids are sometimes found during routine examinations but they can not always be detected this way. They are commonly found during ultrasound or during surgery. If fibroids are severe, then you may need to seek treatment. A myomectomy is a surgical procedure where fibroids are removed one at a time and the uterus is hopefully spared. This is the common treatment for women who still want to have children. Hysterectomy is the other option where the uterus is removed. Talk with your infertility specialist about what options there are for you and your treatment.

This information is provided by Dr. Eric Daiter MD.
Eric A. Daiter

About the Author/Author Bio

Dr. Eric Daiter MD, the medical director of The NJ Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine, LLC, a leading NEW JERSEY INFERTILITY CENTER. Dr. Eric Daiter offers a complete range of MALE INFERTILITY AND FEMALE INFERTILITY TREATMENT.

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Uterine-Fibroids-and-Infertility/135284

Article Submitted: 2008-04-21 | This Article has been viewed 238 times.

Rate Article

Related Videos

Better Care for Uterine Fibroids
What to do about Fibroids
Uterine Artery Embolization
Transvaginal Ultrasound
Dr. Lisa on The Morning Show
 

More "Infertility" Related Articles

 
 

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Infertility" article category.

People interested in the above article "Uterine Fibroids and Infertility" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

 
If you are having a bit of a difficult time getting pregnant, do not rush to the doctor yet. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services cites that most experts tend to use the 12-month time frame as an indicator of being infertile. In other words, you will be considered infertile if you have been trying to get pregnant for 12 months without success. The time frame goes down to 6 months if you are over the age of 35. If you have not reached these time markers and do not wish to seek medical assistance, there are certain things you can do to increase your chance of getting pregnant.
A typical pregnancy lasts nine months however you should think about a pregnancy lasting twelve months instead. It is a good idea for you to prepare your body mentally and physically for an upcoming pregnancy three months prior to trying to conceive. This is especially true for women over the age of 40 trying to have a baby. During this time, it may be a good idea for you to seek out the advice of a medical professional in order for you to get all of your questions answered and for you get a check up to make sure there is no condition you may have that will negatively affect the pregnancy.
If you are ready to get pregnant and are over the age of 40, you are most likely to want to get pregnant now! Time is of the essence after the age of 40. Actually, it is closer to the age of 35. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the chances of a woman getting pregnant dramatically decrease after the age of 30 so a woman in this situation will want to make sure she does everything right from the start.
It does not seem fair when there are many women and couples that do not have any problems getting pregnant. In fact, teenpregnancy.org, a website managed by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, states that there are "750,000 teen pregnancies annually. Eight in ten of these pregnancies are unintended and 81 percent are to unmarried teens." This amounts to a lot of unintended pregnancies and it may be especially disheartening if you have been trying to get pregnant but cannot.
Hope is not lost if you are told you are infertile. Treatment options do exist for those that would like to seek out methods to get pregnant. For some couples, getting pregnant may seem like it is second nature. But for others, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and assisted reproductive technology (ART) methods may become the only option. However, these two types of couples are not the only ones that exist. The majority of couples lie in between these two categories. Before making a major decision like seeking medical treatment to help get pregnant, you may want to take a look at your lifestyle.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services consider a woman or couple "infertile" after a year of trying to get pregnant. The year time frame does not apply for women over the age of 35. If you are over the age of 35, you are considered "infertile" after 6 months of trying. Being told you are infertile does not mean you cannot get pregnant. Some couples do get pregnant without any medical assistance after the first year but many other women and/or couples do need assistance and successful pregnancies do occur.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services cites that 10 percent of women are considered infertile. This equals roughly 6.1 million women that need help getting pregnant. The idea of getting pregnant is an unattainable dream for many couples but there are treatment options and the outlook is better than ever. Infertility treatments are so much more improved than ever before and there are so many more options than ever before that doctors are more specialized than ever. Another positive factor is that fertility evaluations can be done much sooner thereby allowing women and their doctors to have a plan right away.
 
Article Directory Home All Categories Women Health And Fitness Infertility
 

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!
 
Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.

Afrikaans Albanian Arabic Belarusian Bulgarian Catalan Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czech Danish German English Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Irish Italiano Japanese Korean Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Malay Maltese Dutch Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swahili Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese Welsh Yiddish