Dr Zukile Ngayo · Patient care
Conditions
Understand common conditions and the choices you can discuss.
What it means
Antenatal appointments check your health and your baby’s development. They can include blood pressure, urine and blood tests, and appropriate ultrasound scans. Early booking helps identify conditions that need extra care.
Options & things to consider
Your care plan depends on your history and pregnancy. Discuss medicines, nutrition, screening choices and birth preferences. Tests should be explained so you can decide whether to have them.
Questions for your consultation
What checks do I need? When is my next visit? Who should I call with a concern?
Read the NHS patient guideWhat it means
Fibroids may cause no symptoms, or may lead to heavy periods, pelvic pressure, pain or fertility difficulties. Heavy bleeding can cause anaemia. Examination and ultrasound help assess their size and location.
Options & things to consider
Options include observation, medicines for symptoms and selected procedures. Fibroid removal, embolisation and hysterectomy have different implications for fertility and recovery.
Questions for your consultation
Do I need treatment now? Can my womb be preserved? How could treatment affect pregnancy?
Read the NHS patient guideWhat it means
Tissue similar to the womb lining grows elsewhere, often in the pelvis. It may cause severe period pain, pain with sex, bowel or bladder symptoms and difficulty conceiving. A normal scan does not rule it out.
Options & things to consider
Pain relief, hormonal treatment and sometimes surgery may help. Your fertility plans influence treatment. Symptoms can persist or return, so follow-up matters.
Questions for your consultation
What could explain my pain? What are the options if I want to conceive?
Read the NHS patient guideWhat it means
A cyst is a fluid-filled sac on an ovary. Many disappear naturally. Its appearance, size, symptoms and your menopausal status help determine whether monitoring or further investigation is needed.
Options & things to consider
Repeat scans and observation may be appropriate. Surgery may be recommended for certain cysts. Sudden severe pelvic pain with nausea or vomiting needs urgent assessment because an ovary may twist or a cyst may rupture.
Questions for your consultation
Does this cyst need another scan? What symptoms should prompt urgent help?
Read the NHS patient guideWhat it means
Heavy, prolonged bleeding, bleeding between periods or after sex can have several causes, including hormonal changes, fibroids, polyps and less commonly cancer. Bleeding after menopause always needs investigation.
Options & things to consider
Treatment depends on the cause and may include medicines, hormonal options, an intrauterine system or procedures. Testing may include a blood count, ultrasound and sometimes a sample of the womb lining.
Questions for your consultation
Could I be anaemic? What tests will help identify the cause?
Read the NHS patient guideWhat it means
Difficulty conceiving may relate to ovulation, sperm, fallopian tubes, endometriosis or unexplained factors. Assessment can involve both partners. Seek advice after a year of trying, or sooner with increasing age, irregular periods or known risks.
Options & things to consider
Options depend on findings and may include health advice, medicines, selected surgery or referral for assisted reproduction. Treatment is not guaranteed to succeed; emotional wellbeing and costs deserve discussion.
Questions for your consultation
Should we both be assessed? Which options are suitable for our situation?
Read the NHS patient guide