Before pregnancy, there are no proven natural ways to shrink a uterine fibroid. Resveratrol, a plant estrogen-like compound found in red wine, can kill fibroid cells in the lab, but there are no clinical studies showing that it works to shrink fibroids in women. It is not advisable to take resveratrol supplements (or red wine) when you’re pregnant – studies in rats exposed to resveratrol in their mothers’ milk showed long-term effects on the offspring including changes in the brains of male offspring.
During pregnancy, your body is producing large amounts of estrogen hormones, which causes many (but not all) fibroids to grow. Different fibroids can grow at different speeds, and some fibroids don’t grow or even shrink during pregnancy. Sometimes a fibroid can outgrow its blood supply which can cause pain. It’s rare for a fibroid to get in the way of a normal delivery, unless the fibroid is very large, and is positioned low in the pelvis.
Most subserosal fibroids don’t need to be treated with surgery unless they are very large and/or cause symptoms, like an anterior (front side of the uterus) fibroid which pushes on the bladder causing frequent urination.
