An ovarian cyst is normally considered to be a harmless structure made up of fluids. To this extent, a cyst will often have no apparent symptoms. Indeed, it is a common occurrence in women and can occur during pregnancy. Ovarian cysts during pregnancy occur at a ratio of about 1 in a thousand women.

In most cases during pregnancy, an ovarian cysts will be benign. It is considered quite rare for ovarian cyst to be cancerous. It is estimated that 1 in 25000 births have an incidence of ovarian cancer. Doctors use an ultrasound in order to identify ovarian cysts as benign or malignant. Fluid-filled masses, without the thick walls of septation, are usually common, benign ovarian cysts. Nevertheless, an ultrasound cannot determine whether the ovarian cyst is benign or malignant with absolute certainty.

Ovarian cysts can become large, even when they are benign, and this leads to special complications during pregnancy. Though large cysts can cause pain whether or not a woman is pregnant, when a large cyst ruptures or twists on itself during pregnancy, there is the possibility of a miscarriage or pre-term labor. A baby may be delivered earlier than usual due to complications with ovarian cysts during pregnancy.

Under most circumstance, women rarely have problems with ovarian cysts during pregnancy, so long as the ovarian cyst does not become too large or ruptures. Even if the ovarian cyst ruptures, the result is often only pain and rarely infection. This pain can be lessened through the use of pain relievers and will not interfere with the normal progress of pregnancy. Moreover, despite their ovarian cyst, women can still use anesthesia during labor. Consequently, ovarian cysts do not present a huge threat during a pregnancy.

If the cyst gets to be quite large it can twist on itself. This can be painful and will often necessitate a surgical procedure to remove the cyst. This shouldn't harm the baby or adversely affect the pregnancy in any way, but if it can be avoided then it should be during a pregnancy. It may become medically necessary to remove when the ovarian cyst is larger than 6 to 8 cm, unless spontaneous shrinkage occurs.

If the ovarian cyst needs to be removed, the optimum time to perform this procedure is during the second trimester as this is the time that will present fewer complications. Ovarian cysts are removed by laparoscopy but larger cysts will probably require an open incision. Because the risk of a large ovarian cyst rupturing is very high, pregnant women who develop large ovarian cysts need to be closely monitored by their doctor.

In short, while ovarian cysts during pregnancy are fairly common, you should be sure to monitor them carefully during the term of your pregnancy. In most cases they will simply disappear with time and there will be no harmful affects. Indeed, ovarian cysts are generally no worse for the health of the would-be mother than they would be at any other time.