Can I get pregnant after UFE?
If my fibroids are keeping me from getting pregnant, can UFE increase my chances of pregnancy?
The short answer is yes, you can get pregnant after UFE, and UFE increases your chance of pregnancy if the fibroids are keeping you from getting pregnant.
For now, we still recommend surgical myomectomy if your primary goal is to get pregnant, because there is still not enough data to say that UFE is the better choice.
However, if your gynecologist tells you that you are not a candidate for myomectomy, we can proceed with UFE.
As a bonus, UFE is much safer than myomectomy and the recovery from UFE is much shorter than myomectomy.
So, if you want relief from fibroid symptoms and want to keep the option of pregnancy open, UFE is the better choice.
Here are the reasons for our approach:
Myomectomy (surgical removal of the fibroids) is the traditional surgery of choice to prepare a fibroid uterus for pregnancy. It has been studied for several decades, and there is much more data on it than there is on pregnancy after UFE.
But myomectomy is a risky surgery. It is riskier than a hysterectomy!
Furthermore, during attempted myomectomy, the gynecologist might have to do a hysterectomy if your uterus cannot be repaired after the fibroids are removed. So, you could wake up from your surgery to hear the sad news that your uterus is gone. That never happens with UFE.
If your gynecologist tells you that you are not a candidate for myomectomy, we can proceed with UFE.
While there is more data on myomectomy, there is a growing amount of data on pregnancy after UFE.
The team that first performed UFE in 1995 went on to report on nine women who had 12 pregnancies. Five had early miscarriages but 7 resulted in the birth of children.
The team in California who started UFE in the US in 1996 reported on 14 women who became pregnant after UFE, 10 of whom have delivered babies.
In 2010 a group from John Hopkins reported that UFE was better than myomectomy (66% vs 59%) in preparing a uterus for pregnancy.
In 2017 a study reported on 359 women who were unable to conceive prior to UFE. Of these women, 24% were able to get pregnant and deliver a baby by the end of one year, while 37% were able to get pregnant and deliver a baby by the end of two years.
And a review of existing literature published in 2020 concludes that while about 40% of women having UFE can get pregnant, no firm conclusion is yet available on the answer to the question "what is the chance I can deliver a baby after UFE?"
Women who get pregnant after UFE have higher rates of miscarriage, but not higher than women of similar age who get pregnant (because women getting UFE are generally older, in their late 30s or in their 40s, than most women who get pregnant when younger, and younger women have a lower chance of miscarriage)
A few more notes:
In this distorted world where insurance companies get to practice medicine without a license by telling you which procedures, surgeries, and medications you can and cannot have, many will deny payment for your UFE if you say you want to have it so that you can get pregnant. Your best chance at getting the procedure covered is to say you want to have UFE to get rid of symptoms (bleeding or bulk symptoms) and just want to keep the option of pregnancy open.
I recommend you wait at least 6 months after UFE before attempting to get pregnant.
For now, we still recommend surgical myomectomy if your primary goal is to get pregnant, because there is still not enough data to say that UFE is the better choice.
However, if your gynecologist tells you that you are not a candidate for myomectomy, we can proceed with UFE.
As a bonus, UFE is much safer than myomectomy and the recovery from UFE is much shorter than myomectomy.
So, if you want relief from fibroid symptoms and want to keep the option of pregnancy open, UFE is the better choice.
Here are the reasons for our approach:
Myomectomy (surgical removal of the fibroids) is the traditional surgery of choice to prepare a fibroid uterus for pregnancy. It has been studied for several decades, and there is much more data on it than there is on pregnancy after UFE.
But myomectomy is a risky surgery. It is riskier than a hysterectomy!
Furthermore, during attempted myomectomy, the gynecologist might have to do a hysterectomy if your uterus cannot be repaired after the fibroids are removed. So, you could wake up from your surgery to hear the sad news that your uterus is gone. That never happens with UFE.
If your gynecologist tells you that you are not a candidate for myomectomy, we can proceed with UFE.
While there is more data on myomectomy, there is a growing amount of data on pregnancy after UFE.
The team that first performed UFE in 1995 went on to report on nine women who had 12 pregnancies. Five had early miscarriages but 7 resulted in the birth of children.
The team in California who started UFE in the US in 1996 reported on 14 women who became pregnant after UFE, 10 of whom have delivered babies.
In 2010 a group from John Hopkins reported that UFE was better than myomectomy (66% vs 59%) in preparing a uterus for pregnancy.
In 2017 a study reported on 359 women who were unable to conceive prior to UFE. Of these women, 24% were able to get pregnant and deliver a baby by the end of one year, while 37% were able to get pregnant and deliver a baby by the end of two years.
And a review of existing literature published in 2020 concludes that while about 40% of women having UFE can get pregnant, no firm conclusion is yet available on the answer to the question "what is the chance I can deliver a baby after UFE?"
Women who get pregnant after UFE have higher rates of miscarriage, but not higher than women of similar age who get pregnant (because women getting UFE are generally older, in their late 30s or in their 40s, than most women who get pregnant when younger, and younger women have a lower chance of miscarriage)
A few more notes:
In this distorted world where insurance companies get to practice medicine without a license by telling you which procedures, surgeries, and medications you can and cannot have, many will deny payment for your UFE if you say you want to have it so that you can get pregnant. Your best chance at getting the procedure covered is to say you want to have UFE to get rid of symptoms (bleeding or bulk symptoms) and just want to keep the option of pregnancy open.
I recommend you wait at least 6 months after UFE before attempting to get pregnant.
