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Summary
Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumors in women of childbearing age. Fibroids are made of muscle cells and other tissues that grow in and around the wall of the uterus, or womb. The cause of fibroids is unknown. Risk factors include being African American or being overweight.
Many women with fibroids have no symptoms. If you do have symptoms, they may include
- Heavy or painful periods or bleeding between periods
- Feeling "full" in the lower abdomen
- Urinating often
- Pain during sex
- Lower back pain
- Reproductive problems, such as infertility, multiple miscarriages or early labor
Your health care provider may find fibroids during a gynecological exam or by using imaging tests. Treatment includes drugs that can slow or stop their growth, or surgery. If you have no symptoms, you may not even need treatment. Many women with fibroids can get pregnant naturally. For those who cannot, infertility treatments may help.
NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Uterine Fibroids (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
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Uterine Fibroids
(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
- Uterine Fibroids Fact Sheet (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
Symptoms
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What Are the Symptoms of Uterine Fibroids? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
Diagnosis and Tests
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How Are Uterine Fibroids Diagnosed? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
- Hysteroscopy (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - PDF Also in Spanish
- Pelvic laparoscopy - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
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Ultrasound -- Pelvis
(Radiological Society of North America, American College of Radiology)
Also in Spanish
Treatments and Therapies
- Focused Ultrasound Surgery for Uterine Fibroids (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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Medical Treatments for Fibroids (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
- MR-guided Focused Ultrasound for Uterine Fibroids (Radiological Society of North America, American College of Radiology)
- Myomectomy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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Surgical Treatments for Fibroids (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
- Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) (Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
Genetics
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Genetics Home Reference: hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer (National Library of Medicine)
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Leiomyoma (National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Uterine Myomectomy (National Institutes of Health)
Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Find an Expert
- Find an Interventional Radiologist (Society of Interventional Radiology)
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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Also in Spanish
- womenshealth.gov (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- Hysteroscopy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Living with uterine fibroids (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Uterine artery embolization (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Uterine artery embolization - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Uterine fibroids (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
