Uterus at a Glance
At the time of birth, size of uterus in the baby girl happens to be nearly similar to thumb of an adult. When she becomes an adult, size of the uterus turns approximately 30 grams to 100 grams (0.6 to 0.22 pounds). During pregnancy period, size of the uterus extends enormously. The uterus is positioned between the bladder and the rectum. It is in a woman's abdomen. The uterus is 7.5cm long, 5cm wide and 2.5cm in depth and it is hollow with thick muscular walls inside. One end of the uterus opens to the vagina through the cervix and other end is connected to the fallopian tubes. Woman’s fertile eggs travel through these fallopian tubes into the uterus after getting released from the ovaries.
Abnormalities of the Uterus
To conceive and defend pregnancy normal uterus and endometrial lining are essential. In many
women, conditions associated with cavity or the lining can cause
abnormalities in the uterus.
One of the abnormality as known is the retroverted uterus, also know as tilted uterus or tipped uterus. Here the uterus is tilted backwards. In normal condition, the uterus is tilted forward and tipped towards the bladder. In case of retroverted uterus, the uterus tips towards the spin. According to statistics there is a ratio of one out of three or five women having a tilted uterus. Women with a tilted uterus can become pregnant easily as it does not affect fertility or cause fetal development.
There can even be some non-cancerous growths in the uterus known as fibroids. Due to
fibroids, many women suffer from pain and bleeding. Fibroids can affect women’s fertility and ability to conceive. It affects women’s sexual intercourse and makes it painful.
Different Problems of the Uterus
Bicornuate Uterus: A bicornuate uterus is a uterus with two "horns" and is a common uterus problem. Normally the uterus is pear-shaped. In bicornuate uterus, the shape of womb is like a heart. In such case baby get less space to grow.
Unicornuate Uterus: A unicornuate uterus is a uterus with one "horn". It is very uncommon situation where the tissue that forms the womb does not grow appropriately. In case of an unicornuate uterus the woman has only one fallopian tube, two ovaries. The uterus size is just half of normal uterus size.
Double Uterus: One more very rare condition is a double uterus also known as “uterus didelphys”. In double uterus, uterus has two cavities; each has its own cervix and vagina. That means there are two cervixes and two vaginas in the woman.
Septate Uterus: In a septate uterus, inside of the uterus is separated by a wall call septum. It is extended up to cervix.
Effects of Uterine Abnormalities
Some abnormalities do not affect women’s infertility such as tilted uterus. Women with septum uterus also have less infertility problems. A unicornuate uterus causes problems for women in conceiving as there is only one fallopian tube. However, pregnancy in women with this condition is far from unknown.
In case of unicornuate uterus, women have more complications during pregnancy periods and delivery time. Due to unusual shape of the uterus, many babies are find in the breech position instead of head-down position for normal delivery. In such cases, caesarean is an ideal and safe way to protect the baby.
Treatments for Uterus Abnormalities
Contact your doctor, if you have any infertility problems. Your doctor may insist exploratory tests. An ultrasound examination of the uterus is essential to identify problems for uterus abnormalities if any.
Your doctor may also insist for laparoscopy. In laparoscopy, endoscope is passed through your abdomen wall to check your uterus and the fallopian tube. It is possible to treat abnormalities of the uterus but there are some risk factors as sometimes they may damage the uterus which affects your fertility.