Fibroids in Nigeria: Why Doctors Must Stop Ignoring Women's Feelings

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The Silent Suffering Nigerian Women Face With Fibroids

If you are a Nigerian woman, chances are you either have fibroids, you know someone who has them, or you have heard the whispered conversations at owambe parties about 'that thing that makes your stomach big.' Fibroids — those stubborn, non-cancerous growths in the uterus — affect millions of women across Nigeria, and yet, the way we handle treatment in this country still leaves plenty to be desired.

A new wave of medical advocacy is calling on doctors — especially in Nigeria — to stop treating fibroids like a purely mechanical problem to be 'cut out and forget.' Health experts are now urging physicians to have deeper, more holistic conversations with their female patients — conversations that include family planning goals and mental health. And honestly? It's about time.

The Numbers Don't Lie — Fibroids Are Everywhere in Nigeria

Let's talk facts. Studies have consistently shown that African women are disproportionately affected by uterine fibroids compared to women of other racial backgrounds. In Nigeria specifically, fibroids are one of the leading reasons women undergo major surgeries, including hysterectomy — a procedure that permanently removes the uterus. For a society where womanhood and motherhood are often tied together in people's minds, you can imagine what that does to a woman's spirit.

Many Nigerian women report going to hospitals with heavy bleeding, painful periods, swollen abdomens, and constant fatigue — only to be handed a referral for surgery without any proper conversation about what they want for their bodies and their futures. No discussion about whether they still want children. No questions about how they are coping emotionally. Just 'madam, we need to operate.'

"They Never Asked Me If I Still Wanted Children"

This is where the real gist begins. Talk to any woman who has gone through fibroid treatment in Nigeria and many will tell you similar stories. A woman in her early thirties, unmarried, walks into a hospital with fibroids the size of a fist. The doctor recommends a hysterectomy as the 'easiest solution.' Nobody asks her: Do you want children someday? Have you considered other options? How are you feeling emotionally about all of this?

That silence is deafening — and it is dangerous.

Medical experts are now emphasizing that before any fibroid treatment is recommended — whether it is surgery, medication, or newer procedures like uterine fibroid embolization — doctors must have comprehensive conversations covering:

• Fertility intentions: Does the patient want to conceive in the future? This should directly influence which treatment option is recommended.
• Mental health assessment: Is the patient experiencing anxiety, depression, or emotional distress as a result of living with fibroids? Because plenty of them are.
• Quality of life: How are the symptoms affecting her daily life, relationships, work, and self-esteem?
• Cultural and personal values: In a Nigerian context, a woman's desire to carry her own pregnancy is not just personal — it is deeply tied to family expectations, societal pressure, and personal identity.

The Mental Health Side Nobody Talks About

Abeg, let us not gloss over the mental health angle because this one is serious. Living with fibroids is not just a physical struggle. Many Nigerian women deal with:

• Embarrassment from heavy bleeding that soaks through clothes in public
• Low self-esteem from a protruding abdomen that makes them look pregnant when they are not
• Anxiety about infertility and what their families or husbands will say
• Depression from years of chronic pain with no end in sight
• Trauma from invasive surgeries done without proper counseling

And yet, when these women sit across from their doctors, mental health is rarely on the table. Nigerian healthcare still carries a serious stigma around mental health discussions, and this means women often suffer in silence while doctors focus only on the physical symptoms.

Experts are pushing for a model where gynecologists either have basic mental health training or work alongside counselors and psychologists to provide complete care. Because you cannot separate a woman's mind from her body — they are not two different departments.

What Good Fibroid Care Should Actually Look Like

So what are doctors being urged to do differently? The recommendations are clear and they make absolute sense:

• Ask before you act: Every consultation should begin with understanding the woman's life context — her age, her relationship status, her fertility goals, and her mental state.
• Offer a range of options: From watchful waiting to medications like GnRH agonists, to myomectomy (which removes fibroids but preserves the uterus), to newer minimally invasive procedures — women deserve to know all their choices.
• Make referrals to mental health support: If a woman is struggling emotionally, connect her to a counselor. Full stop.
• Follow up properly: Post-treatment care should include checking in on emotional recovery, not just physical healing.

For Nigerian Women Reading This — Know Your Rights

If you are dealing with fibroids and your doctor has not asked you about your fertility plans or your emotional wellbeing, you have every right to bring it up yourself. Ask questions. Demand options. If your doctor is not willing to have that full conversation with you, seek a second opinion. Your body, your future, your choice.

Also, do not carry the emotional load alone. Reach out to support groups — there are fibroid awareness communities growing across Nigeria on social media where women share experiences, recommend doctors, and remind each other that they are not alone in this fight.

The Bottom Line

Fibroids are not just a medical condition — for millions of Nigerian women, they represent years of pain, fear, uncertainty, and lost opportunities. The least our healthcare system can do is treat them as complete human beings when they walk through those hospital doors. Doctors, do better. Nigerian women deserve care that sees the whole person — not just the growths on the ultrasound screen.