Q My doctor told me that I have a "tipped" uterus. Could this affect my ability to get pregnant?
A No. Although a tipped -- or retroverted -- uterus can cause some pain during intercourse (and, possibly, when you insert a tampon), it won't have any effect on your ability to conceive. In fact, most women don't even know they have this condition unless their gynecologist brings it up after doing a pelvic exam. Uterine retroversion is a normal variation in which the uterus is angled backward, toward the rectum, rather than forward, toward the bladder. Up to 30 percent of women have some degree of retroversion, says Glenn Bradley, M.D., an ob-gyn in Santa Barbara, CA: "It's about as medically significant as being left-handed."
Surgery is rarely necessary to reposition the uterus, unless you're in a great deal of pain. A tipped uterus will usually correct itself during the course of a pregnancy. In extremely rare cases, a severely tipped uterus will remain retroverted; if so, a doctor can manually tilt it into place when you're about three months along.
