   |
|
Epidemiology Branch The purpose of the Postpartum Uterine Regression Study is to document any fibroids present in early to mid-pregnancy and to measure fibroid size after postpartum uterine regression. Study collaborators hypothesize that small fibroids will have disappeared and large fibroids will remain essentially unchanged in size. For more information, please see the "Right From the Start: A Study of Early Pregnancy Health" (http://www.mom2be.org/) In epidemiologic studies of uterine fibroids, parity tends to be protective. The researchers hypothesized that a protective effect could arise from loss of early tumor lesions during postpartum remodeling of the uterus (Baird and Dunson, 2003). To test this hypothesis, the researchers developed a collaborative study with Kathie Hartmann at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In her miscarriage study, women enroll very early in pregnancy and have an ultrasound examination around the seventh gestational week. Hartmann searches for fibroids and records the size and location of any tumors. With NIEHS support, the women with fibroids are given another ultrasound examination three months after their pregnancy ends. Size and location of all fibroids will again be recorded. The collaborators will look for disappearance of fibroids, as well as change in size or location. They anticipate collecting data from 300–400 women. If the data suggest that fibroids tend to disappear, further investigation of the mechanisms involved may lead to new strategies for non-surgical fibroid treatment. |
|
   |
|
Web site.
|