At dinner parties I like to tell stories about my backwards (retroverted, tipped, or tilted) uterus.
Just kidding.
According to the ultrasound technician that discovered my retroverted uterus, this is a normal abnormality because as many as one in three women have a uterus that tilts towards their spine instead of the bladder.
The cause of a tilted uterus is genetic, and many women may never know they have this condition. Some women, however, will find out at a most inopportune moment – when they go to their midwife or obstetrician in the first trimester and hope to hear the heart beat of their new little one.
My first prenatal appointment was scheduled for ten weeks and one day at our local birth center. I was so excited and very nervous. I had been feeling depressingly nauseous and tired, and I was looking forward to hearing the heartbeat of my baby. I thought that hearing the rhythmic beats would make my pregnancy more real because other than being sick I had nothing to show for it.
After going through the standard paperwork and Q&A; of the first appointment, my moment was here. I reclined on the examining table and let the student midwife try to find the heartbeat with her handheld doppler. Silence. More silence. Negative thoughts crowded my mind. My husband later remarked that I had a very serious look on my face. The midwife took over for the student and still more silence. My heart sunk. “I probably just wasn’t pregnant,” I thought to myself.
My supportive midwife encouraged me and said that many women do not hear the heartbeat at ten weeks and to try again the following week. The next week, at eleven weeks and four days gestation, I stopped in again for a heart tone check. This time I was with a different midwife who was determined to help me hear my baby’s heartbeat. I climbed back up on the examining table and she went to work.
tilted vs. normal uterus
After another failed attempt to hear a heartbeat, and while fighting the thought that “I probably just am not pregnant anymore” I told my midwife that a few years ago an ultrasound technician told me that I had a backwards uterus. She then told me that she could manually move my uterus forwards via a vaginal exam which would put my baby closer to the doppler. I agreed and we began. It was not very fun or comfortable, but my midwife’s hard work paid off and I heard the heartbeat of my baby! It was a faint sound, but I definitely heard a strong rhythmic 150 beats per minute. I was so overwhelmed and happy! My husband gave me a kiss and I walked out of that appointment knowing for sure that “I was definitely pregnant”.
At some point at the end of the first trimester or the beginning of the second, the pregnant uterus will right itself and “flip” forward towards the bladder and the abdominal wall. However, at eleven, almost twelve weeks gestation my uterus obviously had not done that. When I was fifteen weeks pregnant I started feeling these stretching, full, stabbing pains in my uterus. This lasted a short while, and then it stopped. I concluded that my uterus must have “flipped” forward, but a visit to my midwife would determine if that were true.
At sixteen weeks gestation I had my second prenatal visit and the handheld doppler was again used to listen to heart tones. This time was completely different. We heard the heart beat immediately – strong and loud at 145 beats per minute. I was right – my uterus had flipped.
Love,
Your Fertility Guru
8 Responses to A Tale of My Tilted Uterus
Lindsey Morrow, along with her readers, rises from maiden to mother – one of the most profound and transformative journeys of life. She hopes to inspire women to be mindful in their experiences, revealing new questions and solutions each step of the way.
I had a similar experience with my second pregnancy… After losing my first little one at 22.5 weeks you can bet that I was all over the doctors for some sort of ‘proof’ that this little one was happy in there. After a successful dating u/s at 8 weeks I went in to meet my new OB at 10. Like always he whipped out the heart monitor to take a listen; however he heard nothing… What was odd for me was how nervous I saw him become but how calm I remained; I just knew my little Grace was ok. Now flustered, the doc ran out of the room and wheeled in their u/s machine and tried for an external u/s…and while he could see something he couldn’t get a read on her heartbeat. Once the dildo cam was used and you could visually see my little tyke squirming around in there the doctor started breathing again.
Anywho – I’m sorry your titled uterus took you for a spin! And I’m so happy for you and your family
Hey Jessica! Thanks for commenting. At my last appointment my midwife was going to try using the doppler but I told her it wouldn’t work. It was nice that she knew that I knew my body better than she did. She let me get another quick ultrasound to get the fetal heart tones. Hey, there are some upsides to a backwards uterus!
[...] a softball and should be moving above my pubic bone at this point (It’s not! Read this post here to find out why.) Here are some of the websites my readers have recommended to [...]
[...] Anyways, last week at 15 weeks, I started to feel this really full, crampy, pressure feelings in my uterus. Lots of pelvic pressure too. It was enough to make me do inversions in hopes that everything would right itself. I had an idea that my uterus was possibly trying to move forward because in my son’s pregnancy, it seemed like it happened around 15 weeks as well. You can read that story here. [...]
I’m so glad to have found this blog! I was Googling all over the place for information about others’ experiences with their tilted uterus and how everything turned out. I’m almost 13 weeks and just yesterday the doc wasn’t able to capture an external doppler heartbeat. I would have been devastated but earlier that day I’d had an ultrasound showing a quirmy little babe with a heartrate of 165, so I wasn’t concerned. But now I’m getting nervous to be this far along and not having had my uterus move forward yet. It sounds like yours waited until about week 15, which is reassuring. I’ve of course come along horrible stories of babies becoming trapped in the tilted uterus and a 2nd trimester miscarriage resulting… but I’m trying to stay positive. After an early miscarriage last year I’m a bit apprehensive, to say the least… but again- thank you for sharing your story! xoxo
Yeah 15-17 weeks it turned. Try not to be nervous! Most women never know they have a backwards uterus..
Today I just had an ultra sound at 6w2d. They only saw a sac but not fetus. They believe I may have a blighted ovum but my HCG levels look good! I hope my outcome is the same as yours. I’m so scared.
Sometimes I wish early ultrasounds weren’t available. A lot of stressing over something we have such little control over. Keep me posted!