[buggage]

Do anyone know what the statistics are on getting pregnant with a very tilted uterus? The nurse said she could only see half of my cervix it was so badly tilted, and that maybe I would have to get fertility drugs to get preggy. I'm going to get a second opinion, but just wondering what everyone else thought.

[buggage]

Anyone have any ideas on this? I am just wondering, it just kind of got skipped over and so either no one has any ideas, or just didn't comment, or what?

[J_9]

Honestly Buggage, I am uncertain about this one.

Okay, never mind the first sentence. I think I found the answer. Now, mind you, I am not a doctor, just trying to help you out here.

You may want to take this info to the doc and see what he says.

Quoted from Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing & Health Professionals, 7th Edition:

It could be either:

Uterine Prolapse: The falling, sinking or sliding of the uterus from its normal location of the body.

That really does not sound like what you are going through, just a suggestion to ask your doc.

However, the next 3 sound like one of them could be you.

Uterine Anteversion: A position of the uterus in which the body of the uterus is directed ventrally. Mild degrees of anteversion are of no clinical significance. On speculum examination of the vagina, acute anteversion of the uterus may be deduced from the location of the cervix in the posterior of the vaginal vault. Slight anteversion is the most common uterine position.

Uterine Retroflexion: A position of the uterus in which its body is bent backward on itself at the isthmus of the cervix and the lower uterine segment. This condition has no clinical significance; it does not prevent conception or adversely affect pregnancy. On speculum examination of the vagina, the condition may be deduced by the location of the cervix in the anterior vaginal vault.

AND

Uterine Retroversion: A position of the uterus in which the body of the uterus is directed away from the midline, toward the back. Mild degrees of retroversion are common and have no clinical significance. Severe retrovresion may be accompanied by vague persistent pelvic discomfort and dyspareunia and may prevent the fitting and use of a contraceptive diaphragm.


Be sure to ask your doc about all three. If it is not one, ask him what exactly it is called and I can try and help you from there.

[buggage]

Thank you so much for replying! The nurse had told me that it was very anteposterially tilted and said that meant it was facing my back and she could only see half of opening. I have tried to look up the anteposterially tilted part and never can find anything and I was just wondering if the lady was off her rocker or what. But it does sound like the uterine retroversion. It does cause abdominal discomfort and so forth. I am a bit weary of doing the whole clomid thing though as she suggested, because I have always heard that its pretty much a sure bet of getting multiples. Is that true?

[kp2171]

don't know about getting pregnant.

however, if you do and it all works out... my wife has a tilted uterus which predisposes to back labor. With our daughter, she was 20, a single mom, and didn't know better. In the delivery room they pretty much kept her strapped to the bed = hours and hours of painful back labor as the baby wouldn't turn.

with our second, she was much more educated and empowered. Despite the objections of the nurse, she insisted the have room to move around the room, and with pelvic tilts she was able to get our son to turn in a fraction of the time as her daughter.

certified nurse midwives are something I absolutely believe in. ours spent one to two hours with us every week. How many MDs spend that much time with a patient in a month?? Unfortunately, many OB/GYNs are threatened and some hospitals ban the presence of cert. nurse midwives in the delivery room.

my point, if its been lost, is a tilted uterus might require a some techniques during delivery that you might learn from a midwife or with reading, as most MDs are quick to grab the scalpel these days.

if its good to hear, my wife became pregnant at 36 with our son, and pregnant with our daughter at 19ish, and her uterus is rather tilted.

acupuncture might have also increased her fertility with the second, but it still happened.

good luck!

[jduke44]

I couldn't rate you KP but I totally agree about the midwife. My wife had a midwife the second time after not wanting one the first time. She wouldn't do it any differently. They take much more time and care than the doctor can when she delivers. Not taking anything away from the nurses, J_9 because the first time we had an excellent nurse during the delivery. Just my 2 cents.

[J_9]

Duke, you did not take anything away from me here...

I LOVE MIDWIVES, you must have your RN nursing degree before going on to be a midwife. I have actually given that profession much consideration.

[buggage]

Oh thank you very much for the input! KP that totally makes a lot of sense to me, I had VERY painful back labor with my son.( 8 lb 21 1/2 inches) He poped my tailbone our of place on the way out in fact. Literally an audible popping noise. I have many problems with that now. Found out I could fix it by going to the chiropractor and went in after a year of pain. A few months of going and it was pretty much back to normal. But I stopped going as we moved and got a new job and lost insurance. We haven't had insurance since then as the employers promises were jokes and never went through. Now however we are hoping to get it with our new employers. Also I hear that there is a good one here that only charges 50 for the first appointment and then 15 after that. So hopefully I can get that fixed before I go into labor with the next kid.(ofcourse I have to get preggy first so I have a while HAHA) Perhaps my messed up tail bone is also adding to the infertility? It is bent in half, so that it faces up to my ribs..? so maybe between that and the tilted uterus?? well now tha ti am way off the subject... I was never informed of having a tilted uterus before labor with my son however, and didn't have half the pain and discomfort that I now have. So despite having painful back labor with my son, I don't think that it was tilted before I gave birth. And even 6 weeks after word, as I have my 6 week check up and everything was fine. But the last exam I went to(the first one since my son was born... about a year and a half between visits) it was incredibly painful trying to get through the exam, because she said it was tilted so badly. I am thinking about trying the accupunture route as you suggested. It has always terrified me, just because I hate the way the needles look. It seems like it would be more painful then helpful, but I'm just a wimp that way, so I'll look into that. Thanks again for the info and all the replys! I really appreciate it everyone!

[kp2171]

I'm sorry to hear the pain you are in.

I am not a physician or employed in the medical field, so my opinions may be substanciated or refuted by others more knowledgeable... I know enough to be right sometimes, and usually interested.

If your coccx is really that out of place, I'm wondering you are not in a great position for another vaginal delivery. At least talk to your ob/gyn to anticipate any problems that might arise with carrying the baby to term or delivery... mostly worried about the pain you may be in if you are already in poor shape. The biggest problem with delivery would be in the later stages, as the baby's head would need to move around the obstruction, or possibly re-break the bone. And again, the discomfort in the later stages of pregnant. I don't think this is a fertility problem. And I really don't think a tilted uterus is the fertility "problem" (the may not even be a problem) either.

Did you also pull the muscle insertion out of the bone? This could also cause a popping sound, and would be quite painful... for the life of me I forget what that is called... thatll bug me for a few days... with rest and care id expect that would heal, and I'm sure you've been told to keep pressure off your tailbone when sitting, etc.

The uterus can remain tilted after childbirth if the ligaments lose tension and don't recover... so maybe this did happen after your first, though perhaps you were predisposed and it only got worse.

Do you have a history of adhesions?

[buggage]

I have no idea about adhesions. As far as I know, no one else in my family has this problem. As far as pulling the muscle insertion out of the bone? I have no idea... hahah I honestly didn't even know that existed. I looked a lot of info up on the net about the tailbone popping out of place during childbirth and apparently it's a pretty common thing. And most of the women report hearing an audible pop. Many said that the doctors said there was nothing that could be done and they would just rebreak the bone with the next child birth. I don't know about that though, that doesn't sound too safe for the mom or the baby. No worries, I am definitely going to seek more professional advice on this matter, but I like to hear others opinions and expereinces on the matter.my aunt (through marriage) told me that she had tailbone problems for years. She fell on it really hard one time as a child and it just never mended. And when she had her 6th child(she has 11. yeah I know. wow) she said that after the 6th child it didn't hurt anymore. I asked my chiropractor about it and he told me that once I had it fixed, it could stay in place forever, or it could pop out with the next child. He said that it is very common, esp for women who have larger baby's. He said since I am so tiny( 5'6 and 107 at conception of the first pregnancy, and only 135 at labor, and now 120.) he said that since I am so small, and seem to have large babies, it will most liekly get popped out of place again. But if I come in right away instead of waiting forever as I did last time, it should be fixable a lot faster. So I don't know. I guess we'll just have to see

[kp2171]

many said that the doctors said there was nothing that could be done and they would just rebreak the bone with the next child birth.

Yeah. I didn't want to freak you out and say that, but yes... supposedly at that point in the delivery there is enough going on that its not as bad as it sounds. You'd have to talk to those that have had this happen. I know they do this, I don't know anyone whose had it done. Obviously, it happens.

Adhesions might also cause a tilted uterus. Wife had this (adhesions and ovarian cysts) but the uterus was always somewhat tilted. The acupuncture was started bacause the cysts and adhesions were so painful, but that does not at all sound like what you are describing. It makes sense that if acupuncture helps with adhesions (which it did in my wife's case) that it would help with fertility.

Talk to your doc. Again, the tilt of the uterus and the tailbone are less likely to be a fertility issue. The only reason I mentioned adhesions is they can be implicated in some cases of infertility, and sometimes tied to a tilted uterus. Again, you don't describe anything that sounds like you'd have a history of painful adhesions... pelvic pain (not related to the sitting problems you've had), often with a history of pelvic inflammatory disease, sometimes pain during intercourse.

[buggage]

Yes I have pelvic pain, more at certain times of my cycles then others. Also the painful intercourse. I was told that because of the tilt, that it was more then likely why it was painful. Also she told me that I would possibly have to go on clomid to get preggy with such a tilt. And that kind of scared me. But then she also said that my uterus was enlarged to pregnancy size, so I don't really know that she knew what she was talking about haha. A second opinion is DEFINITELY in order. I am pretty sure that if it comes to it, breaking my tale bone again will be fine. I did it to my last one, with my epidural completely worn off. SOOOOO this time around with a good epidural, I am sure it will be better, rebreaking or not.

[kp2171]

Well... all I can say is my wife had painful adhesions and ovarian cysts. After a surgery didn't fix it they told her she could 1) live with the pain and take vicodin or 2) cut out her uterus.

A friend recommended acupuncture, as she had also had treatment for adhesions. The long of it is, with acupuncture and some exercise, my wife is no longer crying on the bathroom floor in agony. Last fathers day I sent cards to her acupuncturist, massage person, and her osteopath, telling them it was their work and her will that made me a father to my son.

So... we started talking about acupuncture and fertility. If you have adhesions, and it worth talking about, though again, my wife lost some faith in MDs where women's heath is concerned, this might be tied to the whole process. Adhesions can distort the tubes and hinder fertility. I can't diagnose you, but your description of pain might be similar to my wife's in etiology.