Anteverted Uterus

A tipped uterus is an anteverted uterus and in this case, it is tilted forward contrary to a retroverted uterus, which is tilted backward. The uterus is made up of two parts; namely the lower cervix and the upper body or fundus of the uterus. Cervix is about two inches or more, and the uterus body sits on top, which is the size of a pear. The upper body or fundus can at times be bigger in women who have had a baby and smaller in women in their menopause who have had not baby. The cervix and body of uterus attach to pelvic sidewalls by a number of ligaments. The ligaments are quiet flexible and they allow uterus to tilt slightly backward or forward.

Women who have had a couple of vaginal deliveries tend to have more flexible ligaments compared to those who have never had a baby. It is normal to have anteverted or slightly forward tilt uterus. In this case, the uterus is flexed towards the bladder. However, neither of the positions whether backward or forward tilts of uterus by themselves infer with the ability to get pregnant.

A normal uterus

Uterus or the womb is a pear shaped organ, which is tucked away in pelvic. It is about 7.5 cm long, 5 cm wide, and 2.5 cm deep. It is hollow inside and consists of a thick muscular wall. The lower part of uterus that dips down into vagina is the one called cervix while the upper part is referred to as the fundus, and it is that part where the fertilized eggs will grow into a baby.

A uterus that leans forwards over top of bladder, doctors refer to this position as anteverted or anteflexed. When a woman has a tilted uterus or retroverted uterus, it means that it leans away from bladder instead of leaning over it. It may not be seen as an abnormality since it just affects the position of the uterus rather than the structure.

When you have a tilted uterus, it does not mean that it will affect you ability to get pregnant. This is because the ability of sperms getting to fallopian tubes through uterus may have nothing to do with the position of the uterus. An anteverted uterus is a term, which is used by doctors to try to distinguish the position of the uterus.

A woman may have a tilt backward or midposed uterus meaning that it stands straight up and down. While it is estimated that about 50 percent of women have uterus that is tilted forward in their reproductive system, the degree and severity may actually vary. In most of the cases, this may not cause problems with the normal reproductive function.

Why the uterus tilts forwards

Doctors are not sure why the tilting of the uterus occurs but much of it is associated with the anatomy as well as body type. In the pelvis, there is a lot of room, which may allow body parts to shift around. When there is extra space or the organs are rubbing against one another, the uterine placement and the axis might be impacted.

A majority of baby girls tend to be born with midposed uterus but normal growth or development often results in tilts on one side or the other. An anteverted tilt mainly occurs due to pressure from a growing bladder. The anteverted tilt of the uterus is more common compared to backward tilt. Backward tilt is mainly caused by pulling of the uterus from the rectum.

At times, anteverted uterus may occur due to pregnancy or childbirth. While the uterus organ may stretch and expand in order to accommodate the growth of a child, the pressure induced, combined with positioning of baby, might lead to tipping or tilting. The ligaments that hold the uterus organ in place sometimes may become weakened due to physical intensity experienced at time of birth.

At times, this may go away and you have the uterus back into its original position after healing; however, at other times, the change in position may remain and does not get back to normal. As women grow older, they may have more tilting than they do in youth. The muscles and ligaments tend to grow softer and weaker meaning that the uterus may shift its position.

Anteverted uterus and fertility

Most women who have developed a forward tilt of the uterus may not even be aware of it. This condition is not known to affect the fertility of a woman or the gestation and general sexual health. In most cases, having an anteverted uterus is considered normal and may be seen as biological change that can happen.

However, when there is extreme tilting, it may result in some discomforts especially in late stages of pregnancy. It is a rare thing and it can be easily identified in an ultrasound imaging test and some other routine checkups.

You may want to seek medical help when you experience some problems during pregnancy. However, even when a doctor tells you that you have anteverted uterus, it may not be a cause for alarm because it is not likely to affect your general health and fertility. It is just a normal change in position of the uterus, unless otherwise.