Pituitary microadenoma and pregnancy

If you have been diagnosed with pituitary microadenoma , and your pregnancy is proceeding normally, do not be alarmed, because with proper treatment and following certain rules, you can give birth to a healthy baby. The decision should be made exclusively by the woman, understanding the difficulties she will have to face during pregnancy against the background of pituitary microadenoma.

What it is?

Pituitary microadenoma is a benign tumor that does not exceed 1 cm in size, which is located on the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland. Most often, such neoplasms of the gland do not have a significant impact on the woman’s health, but if everything is left to chance, the pathology can harm the baby’s health and its development.

Often, pituitary microadenoma is detected in women of childbearing age from 20 to 40 years. Most often, the disease occurs without obvious symptoms. Headaches and vision problems begin to appear when the tumor increases significantly in size. As already noted, the pathology refers to benign formations and is not characterized by aggressiveness.

The consequences of this pathology are very different:

• The most serious thing is infertility;
• Miscarriage in early pregnancy;
• Spontaneous abortions and many bad things.

In most cases, women who have this diagnosis note the following changes:

• Seborrhea of ​​the scalp;
• Significant increase in body weight;
• Decreased libido;
• Hypertrichosis to a small extent.

Scientists today have not been able to fully identify what causes the development of pathology. There are suggestions that the development of such a disease may be influenced by:

• Taking medications containing hormones;
• Infectious diseases of the lining of the brain;
• Traumatic brain injuries.

Development of pathology and pregnancy

Every woman awaits the birth of her child with great trepidation. But if the diagnosis reveals a pituitary adenoma during pregnancy, then there are significant reasons for concern. After all, the development of pathology can have a negative impact on the development of the child. For example, against the background of tumor development, early contractions can be provoked, which will cause premature birth. Very often this happens in the first three months of pregnancy.

We should not exclude the possibility that termination of pregnancy can cause chronic diseases that develop in parallel.

During pregnancy, the pituitary gland itself increases in size up to two times. And if a microadenoma is present, then compression of the areas of the head that are located nearby may occur.

Therefore, the symptoms of pathology during pregnancy intensify:

• Headaches become much stronger;
• Vision begins to decline, sometimes reaching blindness;
• The tumor increases in size, in some cases up to 20%.

In cases where pathology and pregnancy are diagnosed simultaneously, childbirth with a pituitary adenoma will only be allowed naturally for 80% of women. The issue of breastfeeding is also closed. It has not yet been proven that breastfeeding affects the development of the tumor, but after childbirth you should still start treatment, which can significantly reduce lactation.

Therapy during pregnancy

Naturally, during pregnancy, drug treatment is not prescribed to sick patients. They must do the following procedures throughout the entire period of gestation:

• MRI;
• Endocrinologist consultations;
• Visit to an ophthalmologist.

As already noted, the symptoms of the disease increase in direct proportion to the growth of the adenoma. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly follow all doctor’s recommendations.

Features of childbirth

As already noted, in many cases, childbirth for patients with this diagnosis is carried out naturally. The risk of premature birth in the last months of pregnancy is the same as in other patients. Therefore, you should not worry too much, even with a diagnosis such as pituitary adenoma, pregnancy ends with the birth of a healthy and strong baby.

Therefore, if a woman has a pituitary adenoma, the decision to give birth to a child depends entirely on her. If the mother makes a decision in favor of the baby, the doctor will help her solve the problem. He will prescribe the correct treatment that will be optimal for a specific situation. But a woman should understand that in order to give birth to a healthy and strong baby, strict adherence to all recommendations and fulfillment of appointments will be required.

Disease prognosis

With timely diagnosis and properly selected treatment, a woman with such a diagnosis will not have problems with childbearing. Pregnancy with pituitary adenoma not only begins, but also continues throughout the entire period.

As already noted, surgery is performed if the tumor is large (more than 10 mm). After removal of a benign tumor, all problems disappear, and in most cases vision returns. Restoration of visual capabilities depends entirely on the duration of pressure of the adenoma on the corresponding nerve. But such a favorable outcome will depend on whether the patient has concurrent diseases that can affect her condition.

It is worth noting that most often, removal of the adenoma restores all functions responsible for conceiving a child.

In addition, the following functions are restored:

• The general condition improves significantly;
• Extra pounds go away to normal weight;
• Hormonal balance is restored;
• The condition of the skin improves;
• Libido increases.

It is very important to remember that only a professional doctor should make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.
Diagnosis of such a pathology is possible only after conducting a mass of laboratory tests and magnetic resonance imaging. Only an experienced specialist can individually select the most correct treatment for a specific situation. It is important to remember that you should never self-medicate.