I hope someone who has uterine fibroids comes across this post and feels empowered to push doctors to think more openly about navigating a pregnancy with fibroids and more importantly, I hope that someone does not feel alone!
Around age 20 I learned I had ovarian cyst (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome — PCOS) and uterine fibroids. At the time, I didn’t really know what that meant, other than it was going to be hard to get pregnant. At 20, I was like okay whatever. After a divorce at 23, I thought I didn’t want kids. Part of that was to prepare for not being able to conceive, and the other part really just didn’t want kids.
When I met Matt, I told him that I wasnt sure I wanted kids and his response was, “but who will take care of us when we are older?” Ha! But really, with time I realized I did want kids, but later when I finished school.
Every two years or so I get a routine ultrasound to check my fibroids. Usually they grow but not much. My doctor suggested we get the fibroids laser removed before I start trying for a baby since they can cause problems during pregnancy. That was in June 2020. I thought, “okay, sounds good. I’ll do that in a few years.” I didn’t know it, but at the time I was actually already pregnant! Surprise!
I always really wanted a water birth in a birthing center with a midwife, mostly because Jan from the office did it and I thought it was so cool, but also because I did some research and it seemed like the best fit for me. Sadly, the fibroid did not make me a candidate for a birthing center because my pregnancy was considered high risk. I was so bummed, but ultimately I knew it was for safety of me and the baby.
degeneration
We moved when I was about 10 weeks pregnant and before finding a new doctor, I experienced horrible cramping around 12 weeks. I asked my SIL if that was normal (she has three kids and had a baby about one year before Enzo was born, so she would know, right?!) and she said a little cramping here and there is normal. For the first few days I just went with it. Then, it got worse. Like, soooo much worse. I could barely move! So we went to an urgent care to get looked at (since it was the weekend and I didn’t have a doctor in the new town we were living in). Ugh what a nightmare! We waited an hour for the ultrasound to happen then another hour for any news. We had no idea if the baby was okay or not.
Turns out, the fibroid, which had grown from 4 cm to 8 cm was “degenerating,” meaning it was fighting the growing baby for blood supply and the fibroid was losing. The baby was okay but the doctor was concerned about how large the fibroid was. I was so anxious to get to the real OB!
The next 10 days were awful. I have a really high pain tolerance (gave birth unmedicated) and this shit was so painful. I couldn’t move, couldn’t talk, couldn’t think! The worst part was that I could not take ANY medication other than Tylenol (which we all know doesn’t do shit) so I just had to deal with it. My husband was such a gem. He took such good care of me. Nurse Matt to the rescue!
After my first visit with the new OB, she suggested monthly anatomy scans to watch the fibroid. By 4 months it had grown to 10cm, the size of a grapefruit. It was positioned right above my pubic bone above my bladder. My doctor started calling it the baby’s twin. Funny or no? I kind of thought so.
C-Section or Natural Birth
At this point, it was so large that a cesarian was a very real possibility, which sucked because I really really wanted a natural birth. Basically, it would be very difficult for the baby to push past the fibroid for a natural delivery. This difficulty was increased because Baby Hyden was a chunker! Almost always in the 90+ percentile on anatomy scans.
The shitty part about c-section with this fibroid (and most because of where they are positioned) is that the traditional horizontal c-section cut is not possible because it would puncture the fibroid and cause all sorts of problems. So, the solution is a vertical cut, which doesn’t seem so bad until they tell you that you cannot carry any subsequent babies to term afterward. All future babies would have to be delivered via c-section at 36 weeks because your incision would not allow for a full term pregnancy. All I thought was fuuuuuuuuck. All my birthing plans are out the damn window. Fuck!
While the c-section talk was often, I kept reminding my doctor that I really wanted a natural birth. She was always supportive of the plan and said it would be possible, but wanted me to be prepared for the c-section. She said it was always a 50/50 chance. Other doctors I saw (while she was out) were not so optimistic.
After the 10 cm measurement around 4 months, it did not grow any more (YAYAYAY!). At 32 weeks, we began to solidify my birth plans and my doctor stressed the importance of being in shape and “doing my part” if I want a natural birth. So, I did the classes, read the books, ate right (most of the time), stretched, and ran my preggo ass off. I was running up until about 2 days before Enzo was born. And I am soooo thankful I did.
Labor!
When labor started I did the whole “stay home as long as possible” thing and probably stayed home too long but anyway, my doctor was not the one on duty that night so I ended up with a different doctor who turned out to be so fucking amazing I cannot even stand it! I actually think it was better she (Dr. Furman) was there because she was seasoned and so supportive of my natural delivery preference, though she did remind me several times that a c-section was on the table.
When I arrived to triage I was only like 4 cm dilated but the baby’s heart rate was dipping so they let me stay. After about 2 hours, shit got real. They were so worried about the heart rate and thought that during each contraction his head was squished up against the fibroid and that was causing his heart rate to drop. After my water broke they stuck a thing on his head to monitor his heart rate more clearly, but it was still scary because it was still dropping!
Right before it was time to push, the resident working with Dr. Furman made me sign some paperwork about all the things that could go wrong if I had to get a c-section, even hysterectomy! WTF is that normal? Idk but that shit freaked me out. I, again, reminded them that I was aiming for a natural birth and they said “yes, we know.” Ha, I bet I was so annoying.
So, when labor started, Dr. Furman said that I would push and we would see if the baby could get his shoulders past the fibroid pretty quickly, otherwise, c-section it is. So I pushed my guts out. Not really, but I pushed as hard as I could. After about 20 minutes, she said “okay we have passed the point to where you would need a c-section. You are clear for a natural birth!” Oh. Em. Gee. I was so freaking happy!! After another 30-40 minutes of pushing the little guy was there!
Key Takeaways
If you have a fibroid but want a natural birth, don’t give up! I really lost hope when I started doing research and only found ONE youtube video about a lady who also had a 10cm fibroid and her doctor said she must have a c-section. The fact that my OB was entertaining the idea of a natural birth kept my hope alive.
Natural birth is totally a possibility with a fibroid but like any pregnancy, a c-section is always a possibility. Every fibroid is different, every pregnancy is different, and every woman is different, but when we share stories like this it allows others to feel more confident when advocating for themselves. If you are experiencing a high-risk pregnancy, please go with your gut and consult different doctors. Sometimes we just need to find the right doctor to support us.
mama hyden 
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