Many women of childbearing age will find uterine fibroids in the course of medical checkups, and many of them will be as anxious and fearful as a result, and many of them will hastily take the report to the hospital to seek help from the doctor: “Doctor, I suddenly found out that I have uterine fibroids in the course of medical checkups, what should I do? Must it be surgically removed?” In fact, uterine fibroids are not as scary as we imagine, and not all fibroids must be cut. People’s fear of uterine fibroids mostly comes from the lack of full understanding of it, so let’s have a good understanding of it. What are fibroids? Uterine fibroid is a benign tumor that occurs on the uterus, the most common pelvic tumor in women, mostly occurring in women aged 30 to 50 years old (of course, there are also younger), is a benign tumor formed by the proliferation of the smooth muscle cells of the uterine myometrium. Some data show that 1 in 4 to 5 women over 35 years of age have uterine fibroids, except that some are not diagnosed because their symptoms are not obvious. Fibroids can be observed in about 80% of surgically removed uterine specimens on pathologic examination. Therefore, it is relatively common to find fibroids in the uterus, and there is no need to be alarmed or panic. Why do fibroids grow? The cause of the disease is not yet clear. However, it is generally believed to be related to elevated or disturbed levels of estrogen in a woman’s body. Estrogen and progesterone can promote myoma cell division and stimulate myoma growth. In addition, early menarche, high blood pressure, obesity, heavy consumption of beef and lamb, and alcohol consumption may increase the risk of fibroids. What are the symptoms of fibroids? Whether there will be symptoms and what kind of symptoms appear depends mainly on the location, size and number of fibroids. Most of the fibroids are small and usually have no obvious symptoms, and are only found by chance during physical examination. The most common symptoms are those that mainly affect menstruation. About one-fourth of all women with fibroids will have fibroids that affect uterine contractions, increase the size of the uterine lining, and cause heavier or longer periods, which may be accompanied by menstrual cramps. If the fibroid is too large, it may also cause discomfort such as frequent urination, urgency, difficulty in urination, difficulty in defecation and abdominal pain. Can fibroids affect pregnancy? Does it have any effect on IVF? According to statistics, only 1-2% of infertility cases are caused by uterine fibroids. The specific mechanism may be that submucosal fibroids prevent the fertilized egg from implanting and reduce the contractility of the uterus, leading to infertility or spontaneous abortion. Uterine fibroids are equally common in patients undergoing IVF treatment. Some studies have shown that 2 or more fibroids can significantly affect the success of IVF. Submucosal fibroids that exceed 3cm in size can significantly interfere with implantation. However, in clinical practice, the actual situation will vary from person to person, and whether or not pregnancy will be affected cannot be judged solely by the number and size of fibroids. When do I need treatment? What should I do if I want to get pregnant and have fibroids? Again, this question depends on the symptoms, the location and size of the fibroids, and whether they are affecting the pregnancy. For women who need to get pregnant, if they are found to have fibroids but are asymptomatic, it is best not to delay pregnancy as fertility declines with age; if they are already planning a pregnancy, prophylactic myomectomy is not recommended. If the uterine fibroid is subplasma fibroid or intermural fibroid, and the diameter is less than 5cm, and there is no symptom, it usually does not need special treatment, and regular checkups are required. In the case of submucosal fibroids, that is, those affecting the endometrium and thus pregnancy, there is now good evidence that they should be removed to improve embryo implantation rates and clinical pregnancy rates.