Patient Forms Survey Uterine Fibroids Return to Naturopathic Medicine Uterine fibroids are benign tumors that grow on the uterus. Twenty percent of women over the age of 35 will be affected.
Some women have small symptomless fibroids for many years.
For others, the fibroids enlarge and may cause pain, bleeding between periods, and excessive bleeding during periods. Estrogen, growth hormone, blood sugar and other substances stimulate fibroid growth. This means that oral contraceptives, estrogen treatments, and pregnancy enhance fibroid growth. Sometimes this is because of an excess of estrogen or an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone. Other factors associated with fibroids are family history, poor diet, whether or not a woman has had a child, and race.