The Effects of Fibroids on Fertility

The Infertility Awareness Association of Canada defines fibroids as "benign tumor growths, made up of smooth muscle tissue." According to the association fibroids are found in approximately 25 percent of women by the time they're 40 years old. The Sunday Times from the UK says fibroids can affect up to 50 percent of women and most women are between the ages of 30 and 40 when they get them. Most women who get fibroids have not had children when they're first diagnosed with the problem. The benign tumors can cause infertility and miscarriage.

Fibroids are a major cause of surgery and can be removed in a procedure called a myomectomy. The procedure effectively removes the non-cancerous growths, but there are risks associated with it including the chance of making it even more difficult to conceive. When the fibroids are removed, they can leave scar tissue that makes it difficult for the embryo to attach.

Fibroid Facts

Most fibroids are small and not much larger than the size of a walnut. It's possible to have many fibroids at one time and some have even been known to block the birth canal making a c-section the only delivery option if a woman does manage to carry a baby to term. Fibroids don't necessarily affect a woman's ability to get pregnant since they don't usually interfere with ovulation. But they do interfere with an embryo's ability to properly attach to the uterine wall and grow. Women with fibroids can often have repeated miscarriages.

Fibroids are medically known as uterine leiomyomata. There are three kinds: intramural fibroids, subserosal fibroids and submusocal fibroids. Intramural fibroids are the most common and grow inside the uterine wall. Fibroids that grow outside the uterus are called subserosal fibroids and tend to grow the largest of all fibroids. Submucosal fibroids are ones that grow on the inside of your uterus.

The Effect on Fertility

Fibroids can change the shape of the uterus. Dr. William H. Parker, a board-certified physician in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says in his blog that submusocal fibroids can change the shape of the uterus cavity and decrease fertility by 70 percent. One removed, fertility can increase by 70 percent assuming there are no other female fertility issues or concerns. Intramural fibroids don't change the shape of the uterus and don't affect fertility. Subserosal fibroids also do not affect fertility and surgical removal of these last two types of fibroids doesn't increase fertility.