Her uterus was retroflexed (aimed backwards). During the first trimester of pregnancy her womb, still tipped back, grew into the curved space in front of the sacrum and tailbone under the sacral promontory. The uterus is not up in the abdomen at all!
| See a picture at Wikipedia |
Once upon a time, a doctor wrote about this rare condition and used the phrase, “incarcerated uterus.” Wikipedia reports the frequency as 1 in 3,000 pregnancies.
Why would this happen? Seems related to ligament weakness. The round ligaments aren’t able to do their job or the uterosacral joints are too short – or both. Immediate help may be necessary.
Potential solution? If the mother has not high blood pressure or other risk of stroke, she can begin doing Forward-leaning Inversions (FLI) and Side-lying Releases. Standing Sacral Release will give the sacrum more mobility to, hopefully, release the womb. These others may be supportive techniques, while FLI may be specifically effective.
I would also add, gentle jiggling with The Jiggle while in the open knee-chest (thighs to spine are in the letter “A” – its not about the knees being apart!)
In an Open knee-chest position with knees further from tummy than the mother’s hips are… making that letter “A” again, Could a doctor gently, gently jiggle the womb up to the abdomen? Balance muscles first, side lying release first, empty bladder and empty tummy… Would this be safe to do? I’d want the baby listened to and monitored and the mother monitored an hour after. So this would be a hospital technique in case of tragedy.
What if nothing is done? Pain, bleeding, urinary difficulties and infant loss are associated problems. Act sooner than later.
With supervision, I’d think the above techniques may work. They wouldn’t be without risk and the jiggling can be gentle – to stimulate fascia receptors so they let the womb come up in the abdomen which during the inversions is lower than the pelvis for the moment. Ask your doctor, if this problem happens to you, and let me know what happens next.
References are at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uterine_incarceration
Prevention? Balance your ligaments with guidance from professionals and with wisdom from Daily Essentials DVD or the upcoming Spinning Babies® Parent Class. Get Body Balancing before pregnancy if you’ve been found to have a retroflexed uterus. Usually this won’t happen, even then, but preventative measures will also help move towards an easier birth all around.
