Question about uterus ante / retroverted.

Thanks Lindy for the post, we'll have to let someone like Louise answer the ante/retro question; but I agree that your post gives much-needed feedback to those who might be discouraged if they aren't getting instant results. It takes time and work! I've done my share of slacking and paid the price, so like you, I've stepped things up a notch the last few months and it makes a difference.

Hi Aussielou,

If your cervix is pointing backwards then your uterus is pointing forwards and is anteverted.
I think of it like a pear with the cervix being the stem and the uterus being the body of the pear.

(If your cervix points forwards then your uterus points backwards and is retroverted).

Louise has posted some great descriptions of this - maybe do a search on retroversion (I find the google search works better e.g. put 'site:www.wholewoman.com retroversion' into your google search box).

Thanks for the update too. Great to hear things are improving.

Hi Aussielou

Well, I checked mine the other day and found that it was retroverted again, but I must have had reason to check, so must have been symptomatic at the time.

Just checked a minute ago, standing, and it was very high on the back wall but seemed to be indicating that the uterus was standing upright. I emptied my bladder then lay down and checked again, and there it was, lower on the front wall. This uterus of mine seems to be very, very mobile. Maybe my full bladder was pushing my uterus up and back, then when I emptied it tipped forward and down, anteverted again?

I think I just learned something new about my body. My uterus shifts, depending on the fullness of my bladder. Der! It's obvious really, but I never really thought about it before.

When my bladder was emptied and I stood up, my my uterus literally fell forward by about 90 degrees. Maybe many of the diagrams all have a full bladder because you have to fill your bladder for a pelvic ultrasound? (Or more mischievously, maybe they make you fill your bladder because that's what they have in the pictures? ;-b )

I figure that I feel what I feel, and I can interpret it accurately now, by the direction my cervix is pointing. I am almost 100% certain that chronic retroversion is caused by chronic butt and tummy tucking. The loose membrane that spans the pelvic ring tends towards concave between cervix and sacrum, but convex between cervix and pubic bones. This leaves the cul de sac at the back very deep, so there is somewhere for the uterus to tip back into. When the whole pelvic contents wind forwards, the colon comes forwards, out of the pelvic cavity, the bit between the cervix and the sacrum becomes convex, eliminating the cul de sac space, so the cervix has nowhere to tip backwards into, and the bit between the pubic bones and the cervix becomes concave, leaving a nice ditch at the front for the bladder to flop forwards into, with the uterus draped in anteversion over the top. I have done some rough and dirty pictures to illustrate what I think happens. I have posted it on Whole Woman Village page on Facebook, so you can go and look at it. I can visualise it in my head but it is so hard to describe concisely.

When several health professionals furrow their brows and give you conflicting readings of where your organs are, don't worry, they are probably all correct ... at the moment when they examined you, but maybe wrong again after you emptied your bladder. Nobody ever comments on how full your bladder was at the time and what effect it has on the position of your uterus, let alone your bladder!!! Not very sophisticated, are they?

I think I know more than the doctor does about my particular body, because I live in my own body 24/7, and I have been observing it for years. Big claim? The doctor might be more fluent than I am in the use of anatomical language for describing what is happening in there, but I know where things are, and how they behave. They know the language. I know the layout and its variations at different times and in different positions and movements. You too can learn as much as I know. You just have to put in the time to study it in books/internet, and relate it to your own body. I feel that it is important, so I do it.

Just go with what you can feel and visualise yourself, once you have gotten used to doing an accurate self exam, and visualise what you are feeling. Do it often. Do it very gently. Record your observations if you are that way inclined. Just remember to keep the notebook in a safe place, and the annotations very cryptic to avoid unnecessaily complicated explanations. Fingers are wonderful. They can get to places that eyes cannot; and they are very sensitive, when combined with the belly sensations, facilitated by the marvelous female brain.

Have I answered your question?

Louise

Nice to read success stories. They are not easy to find and I need them. :-)