By Francesca Hangeior
Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, has said that fibroid is not solely responsible for infertility, pointing out that a lot of people with the condition get pregnant and go on to have healthy babies.
The fertility expert, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Nordica Fertility Centre, said though fibroid and infertility are associated, they are not causally related.
According to the National Health Service, fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb (uterus).
The growths are made up of muscle and fibrous tissue that vary in size and are sometimes known as uterine myomas or leiomyomas
The NHS noted that fibroids are common, with around two in three women developing at least one fibroid at some point in their life, adding that they most often occur in women aged 30 to 50.
The NHS further stated that fibroids are thought to develop more frequently in women of African-Caribbean origin.
Speaking at an awareness programme in Lagos for fibroid patients organised by the Support Association for Fibroid Awareness, the fertility expert maintained that only about two to three per cent of infertility is due to fibroid.
Ajayi noted that some women after undergoing fibroid treatment later get to know that Fibroid is not responsible for their inability to conceive.
“So, it is only about two to three per cent of infertility that is due to fibroid. And occurrence of fibroid and infertility is more than two to three per cent because of other reasons. Thus, it is wrong when people think that fibroid is what is not making them get pregnant because a lot of people with fibroid get pregnant.
“The thing is that when you have infertility and fibroid, please do a wholesome assessment of the infertility because there might be other reasons so you don’t just hang on and after treating the fibroid, then you realize that there are other reasons for the infertility. For example, maybe, there is a male factor to the infertility, if it is something that can be treated, you then know and take the time to treat it concurrently
“For instance, if you are treating your fibroid and you know there is a male factor already, immediately you finish treating your fibroid, you go in for IVF straight, so that you don’t lose time.
“Infertility is a race against time. For the same woman, you are better off this year than next year because of the quality of eggs. So, we always want to maximise time when it comes to infertility,” Abayomi said.
In her remarks, the Manager, SAFA, Wemimo Adewuni, stated that the training on physical awareness was organised by the association due to the endemic nature of fibroid among black people, particularly Nigerian women.
She disclosed that the seminar was the group’s first physical meeting to bring together women who have connected online before now to speak to a doctor to explain to them what is going on in their bodies.
“SAFA is a support association where these women can be together with a doctor, and get peer encouragement so that if someone has a question or issue there are people who can relate with it.
“We partnered with the Fibroid Care Centre, who provided the doctor that explained to the women as well as provided free screening for three women and one free High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) treatment,” Adewuni said.