Uterus Enlargement & Pregnancy with IUD: What You Need to Know

Question
I have had my marina 9 months and I went to the doctor she said My uterus is enlarging why is this? and then I had any ultrasound done today but the tech would not tell me any thing if I am pregnant can I keep the baby.

Answer
Dear Leora,

In the event that a pregnancy occurs with Mirena, or any IUD, in place, ideally the device should be removed. There is a slight risk of pregnancy loss with removal. If it cannot be removed or the woman chooses not to have it removed, women should know that failure to remove the device increases the risk of miscarriage, sepsis, premature labor and premature delivery.

When pregnancy continues with Mirena in place, long-term effects on the offspring are unknown. As of September 1999, 32 live births following exposure to Mirena were reported retrospectively. All but 2 of the infants were healthy at birth. One infant had pulmonary artery hypoplasia and another infant had cystic hypoplastic kidneys.

As to why your uterus is enlarging, I cannot tell you that definitively. I'm sure that is why your doctor ordered the ultrasound - to determine a cause for the enlargement. It may just be uterine fibroids causing the enlargement. Fibroids are actually quite common - between 50% and 80% of all women have at least one. For the most part, these fibroids cause no symptoms, though they can be problematic for about 20% of women. Uterine fibroids are tumors or growths, made up of muscle cells and other tissues that grow within the wall of the uterus (or womb). Although fibroids are sometimes called tumors, they are almost always benign (not cancerous). They are the most common, benign tumors in women of childbearing age, but no one knows exactly what causes them. Causes could be hormonal (affected by estrogen levels), genetic (running in families), environmental, or a combination of all three. Because no one knows for sure what causes fibroids, we also don't know what causes them to grow or shrink. For the most part, fibroids stop growing or shrink after menopause. However, this is not true for all women with fibroids. You will just need to get those test results back to know for sure what the cause for the enlargement is.

I hope this information has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well.

Brenda