Q&A: Can a fibroid tumor cause a miscarriage?

by Dr. Gerard M. DiLeo

My sister-in-law is two months pregnant. She is 38, and has two children, ages four and seven. Over the past year she has had two miscarriages, one at four weeks, the other at thirteen weeks. Her OB/GYN thought it was due to her fibroid. She now has a fibroid the size of a grapefruit growing right next to the baby. What are the chances the baby will survive?

A grapefruit is a large structure indeed, so a fibroid that size, merely by competing for space, puts the pregnancy at risk. It's hard to say what will happen here. I think the miscarriage at four weeks was probably unrelated to the fibroid, but the one at thirteen weeks may have been.

It also depends on whether the fibroid is in the wall of the uterus (more worrisome), which will interfere with the normal expansion of the uterus; or hanging off of a stalk (less worrisome). If it's the stalk variety, what we call "pedunculated," then the chances of a normal pregnancy are excellent.

Either way, she's probably at risk for being 38, which of course is another factor. She's certainly high risk and I'm sure her doctor will be watching her closely.

from beyond babyzone:
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