When women are asked where their baby is in their belly, most cannot answer. When you ask young girls or young adult women what the uterus is, they honestly have no idea unless they have had advanced anatomy classes.
The uterus is an organ that plays an important role in female reproduction and menstrual cycles. It is muscular, but a hollow organ that has the ability to contract involuntarily (meaning that you cannot control it).
In terms of fertility and pregnancy: the uterus is where a fertilized egg will implant to grow into a fetus. This is where a fetus will grow and develop until birth! Since it is made up of that muscular lining – it “contracts” (what you may know as labor contractions) to help push the baby out of the vaginal canal during childbirth.
In terms of menstruating: the uterus has a lining called the endometrial lining. As your hormones change like they do every month leading up to your period – this lining thickens with blood. When your uterus does not have egg implantation then this lining will “shed” and you will have your period.
Above is a simple picture of your uterus and where it is located in the female anatomy. Most women have an anteverted positioned uterus – this is where it tilts forward from the cervix and points towards your abdomen. There are other positions (see below) that the uterus can take, and these aren’t “bad”. They are just different and can affect you during pregnancy.
- Retroverted uterus: Commonly called a tipped or tilted uterus. This is when your uterus is tilted or tipped backward so it curves toward your spine instead of forward toward your abdomen.
- Anteflexed uterus: the uterus is bent forward. If the tilt is severe it can put pressure on your abdomen or bladder and cause painful symptoms.
- Retroflexed uterus: the uterus is bent backward. The tilt can put pressure on your lower back.
These are just the basics of the uterus! In the future, we will be covering more dysfunctions of the uterus, such as endometriosis. So stay tuned! If you want to check out some of our previous blogs, look at the most recent posts below!
