Uterus’ Shape Determines a Successful Full term Pregnancy

Uterus’ Shape Determines a Successful Full term Pregnancy

Uterus is the female womb and of course a major female reproductive sex organ. At one end is the cervix which opens into the vagina while at the other end of it links to the one or two of the fallopian tubes. Thus fetus develops within the uterus during gestation. The shape of the uterus is 

embryologically determined by the fusion of the Mullerian ducts and any abnormalities in the shape of the uterus might result to major problem in pregnancy. The followings are what could go wrong with the uterus:

• One sided uterus; meaning that only one side of the uterus Mullerian ducts (this are two ducts of the embryo which later develop to form the uterine tubes, uterus, cervix, and the upper one-third of the vagina) is formed. The image when scanned looks like a penis. This is medically referred to as Unicornuate uterus.

• Retroverted Uterus:The uterus normally flips a little out of the pelvis or a complete flip out of the entire pelvic cavity which may result to long term bladder damage.

• Double uterus: when both Müllerian ducts develop but fail to fuse, thus the patient has a double uterus. This may be a condition with a double cervix and a vaginal partition, or the lower Müllerian system fused into its unpaired condition.

• Uterus with two horns occurs because only the upper part of the Müllerian system that forms the uterus fails to fuse, thus the caudal part of the uterus is normal while the cranial part is bifurcated. The uterus looks like a heart when viewed. This is medically refers to as bicornuate uterus. The following are the problems associated with this abnormality; miscarriage, preterm labour, preterm prelabour rupture of membranes, abnormalities of baby’s lie and presentation and the higher risk of caesarean section.
• Uterine septum or partition: the two Müllerian ducts have fused, but the partition between them is still present, splitting the system into two parts. With a complete septum the vagina, cervix and the uterus can be partitioned. Usually the septum affects only the cranial part of the uterus. A uterine septum is the most common uterine malformation and a cause for miscarriage. It is diagnosed by medical image techniques, i.e. through. ultrasound or an MRI. A uterine septum can be corrected by hysteroscopic surgery.

Any discovery of any of the above will naturally make you be worried especially when it has resulted to miscarriage in previous pregnancy. A close monitoring is required and so clinic must be attended regularly.