Uterine artery embolization is a blood vessel blocking technique used to treat fibroids, benign growths in the uterus that can cause pain and other symptoms. Although this treatment is not generally recommended for women planning to become pregnant, a new report suggests that it doesn’t significantly raise the risk of most pregnancy problems.

Information on pregnancies after this treatment, first described in 1995, remains limited, Drs. W. J. Walker and T. T. Carpenter, from the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guilford, UK, note in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

In their paper, the researchers report on 29 pregnancies in women underwent the procedure. However, Dr. Walker’s assistant Rose Nielson told Reuters Health that since the paper was submitted, “we have to-date 53 pregnancies in 43 women.” These have resulted in 29 successful live births and 4 ongoing pregnancies in women whose average age was 35.8 years.

As well as being older than the general obstetric population, she added, these women had additional risk factors. The overall miscarriage rate was 24.5 percent, but this occurred in women with an average age of 41.8 years. This, she said, is “no higher than in the general obstetric population.”

As noted in the study, the researchers did find an increase in C-sections. However, they conclude that there does not appear to be any other major obstetric complication when age and other characteristics of the population in question are considered.

SOURCE: British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, March 2005.