Small uterus - automatic c-section? - Page 2

[MidwifeErika]

Originally Posted by mamallama

Sometimes it seems like there's a sense of pride that comes with being too "delicate" for the rough and common tasks of reproduction.

A friend of mine recently told me (with a great deal of pride) that his wife had to have a c-section because she's too small "down there." Then he gave me this disdainful look, as if he were imagining the man-hole my three kids must have popped out of. :

It's the same old misogynist crap that led women to bind their feet and pull those corset laces extra tight.

I COMPLETELY agree.

[mamallama]

In a moment of irritation I ran my big mouth and now I want to set it right.

I wonder if the OP's friend is a DES survivor.

DES is a drug that was once thought to prevent miscarriage. Instead, it caused reproductive system anomalies in the unborn babies, with sometimes devastating consequences for their childbearing prospects: infertility, recurrent miscarriage and preterm birth.

Among other things, DES exposure in the womb resulted in baby girls with uterine anomalies--small uteri or t-shaped uteri.

Having a small uterus doesn't seem to be a factor for cesarean birth (unless the doc is looking for a reason to cut,) but having a t-shaped uterus makes it more likely that the baby will remain breech, and thus be born via cesarean section.

The reality of DES became known in 1971. If the niece is younger than 36 or so, DES is probably not a factor.

[blueridgewoman]

No way- I only have half a uterus and I had a vaginal birth.

The only way I can see an increased c-section risk is because sometimes, with uterine issues, the baby doesn't have enough room to turn so you end up with a breech and most doctors won't vaginally deliver a breech. My dd turned, thankfully, but I know that breech is very common in my situation.

[lorijds]

I have heard moms say this, what they usually mean is pelvis.

I took care of a mom (I was her PP nurse) who told me this: "My uterus was too small, that's why I had a section." Even when I corrected her (Actually, her uterus and pelvis were just fine, the baby didn't tolerate the induction and the epidural ) I still heard her telling her family and friends that the doctor said her uterus was too small, just like her mother, and she'd have to have sections now with all her babies. Me: No, you have to have sections now because this hospital doesn't do VBACs, but if you go to many hospitals in a nearby large city, you can have a VBAC. You had a section because your baby didn't tolerate the drugs they gave you during labor. Her, talking to friends later, "I have to have sections now because my uterus is too small." Me: ARGH!

Point being: People hear what they want or expect to hear sometimes, or they latch on to a phrase that the doctor didn't even intend; sometimes the exact opposite of what the doc intended.

And how does she know that she bruises easily after a pap smear? This makes no sense to me AT ALL. Where exactly does she bruise--on her labia? Her inner thighs? Does she get out a spec and a mirror to check her internal vaginal tissue and cervix for bruising? I suspect one of three things--she has a friable cervix, and bleeds easily after paps. Two--her provider is too rough. Three--she's totally blowing smoke up your butt and is making this up as a "reasonable" explanation for pain and bleeding after a pap.

I have a friable cervix. I bleed after most paps (my provider is most decidedly NOT rough) and I sometimes bleed after intercourse. This could be what she is talking about when she says she bruises easily.

Another thought--she could have some type of disorder that increases her likelihood of bleeding after intercourse and paps (like a clotting disorder) or some type of disorder that affects the tissue, making things like exams painful (like some type of chronic vaginosis, or a disorder whose name escapes me but it is when women have vulvular and/or vaginal pain related to periods, intercourse, and exams.

Anyhow, lots of possibilities, but unless she has some congenital condition where her uterus is totally malformed, underdeveloped, and/or not even really present, this "uterus too small" thing is simply not correct.