Daughters, what questions should you be asking your mothers about fibroids?
Introduction
“The more a daughter knows about the details of her mother's life - without flinching or whining - the stronger the daughter”
As a daughter, having an early conversation with a mother about health and looking after your body is very important.
I had previously written an article for blackdoctor.org about mothers talking to daughters about fibroids - you can check out that article here
- Mothers Are You Talking To Your Daughters About Fibroids -
The thing is that some mothers may not be starting that vital conversation.
Not talking about fibroids, could mean a weaker resolve for young women when managing the rigours of a possible lifetime of fibroid growth and dominance.
In this modern age of the internet and information at “your fingertips”, you would think that young women are well versed in health matters such as the risk of fibroids.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
One statistic states that 32 percent of black women waited more than five years before seeking medical advice on fibroids compared to 17 percent of whites.
Daughters asking early questions could go a long way to addressing this type of statistic
Having that fibroids conversation earlier, could make a difference
The issue is, where do you start?
As a daughter, how do you start?
In this article, I’ll give examples of some starter questions that a daughter could ask her mother, that could lead to avoiding fibroids dominating their lives.
Fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb (uterus) (- www.nhs.uk)
It is estimated that 50% of women have none of the symptoms such as heavy, long and painful periods.
There is a belief that, if there are no symptoms, you should do nothing about fibroids - just leave them be.
However, for some women there can be consequences of just “doing nothing”.
Seeking medical advice for a proper diagnosis should be your first action.
But as mentioned earlier, getting an early diagnosis can be problematic for some women.
You are experiencing "dominating symptoms", simple changes in your lifestyle can make a difference.
For example, changing to a diet that helps address hormonal balance could help to control domination.
So, what are those “simple questions” on fibroids?
There are so many and I have listed just some examples below:
What are fibroids?
- They are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around a female's womb (uterus)
Am I at a higher risk as you have fibroids?
- It has been know for fibroids to appear in female relatives within the same family.
This, however, tends to be lifestyle related and there is no evidence that fibroids are hereditary
When should I start thinking about the risk of fibroids?
- The earlier the better - as soon as you the start your menstrual cycle is great time for thinking about how to limit the risks
Is there a cure for fibroids?
- There is no cure. There are medical treatments following diagnosis.
You can, however, ensure that your lifestyle and diet are tailored to avoid fibroid dominance and the earlier you start this the better!
Why do so many black women have fibroids compared to white women?
- Research suggests that this is due to early and high exposure of many of the causative factors of fibroids, e.g. obesity, lack of exercise, low fibre diet etc
Will I be able to have children if I have fibroids?
- Many women with fibroids do have children.
In rare cases, complications from fibroids can affect pregnancy or cause infertility
In Summary
So there you go!
Are you ready to start asking about fibroids?
Having that early discussion is vital, and those questions can go to an aunt, cousin, grandmother etc.
This isn’t a mother only exclusive zone.
Once you start with a Q&A, you can then broaden your knowledge and awareness, e.g seek reputable information on the Intranet (e.g the National Health Service in the UK)
What are waiting for?
Start that conversation about fibroids!!
It can make all the difference to a lifetime of avoiding fibroids dominating your life
