Research-backed
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One of the things that fascinate most women during pregnancy is to observe the change in their baby bump over time. In fact, several expecting moms find themselves checking out their bellies in the mirror every once in a while. Many of them capture photographs of it throughout their pregnancies. Here, we are talking about one such soon-to-be moms, Yiota Kouzoukas, who documented her entire pregnancy journey (in pictures, of course). But, there was something that set this journey apart. In her photos, it was clearly evident that Yiota did not have much of a baby bump at all.
Here, have a look at some of these pictures:
The Five-Month Milestone
Image: yiota/Instagram
Yiota mentions how she is five months pregnant in the picture and can already feel her little one kicking.
Six-Month-Pregnant Mommy
Image: yiota/Instagram
Yiota is clearly excited about her growing baby belly, even though it has been gradual!
But, of course, looking at these pictures, Yiota’s followers were curious to know how this is possible. As expected, she was inundated with numerous questions on her social media page. So, she decided to answer why her baby bump does not look like an average pregnant belly.
In her post, Yiota mentions how her uterus was tilted or retroverted during the initial four months of the pregnancy. This essentially meant that the uterus was growing backward in the body instead of growing in the outward direction. She further mentions how the uterus tilts forward on its own for most women at the 12th-week milestone. Then, it grows in the outward direction as it would normally.
But, for Yiota, the uterus did not flip forward until she reached the fourth month of her pregnancy. This was due to the backward-tilted uterus position combined with the scarring of decade-old endometriosis. As mentioned by her, this scarring was present on her uterosacral ligaments, which act as an anchor to keep the uterus ‘inside’ instead of ‘outside’. And, with this, Yiota answered why she looked smaller than other expecting moms in the initial four months or so.
Are you finding it hard to believe? Here, have a look at the post yourself:
Image: yiota/Instagram
More About Tilted Uterus And Pregnancy
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A tilted uterus is considered to be a normal anatomical variation, which should not interfere with a woman’s ability to conceive. There are one in four women who can have a uterus that leans backward rather than outward at the cervix (1).
During the first month of gestation, the tilted uterus can cause relatively more pressure on the woman’s bladder. This may lead to difficulty in urination or increased incontinence. And, it can also cause backaches in a few women too. Additionally, the doctor may find it difficult to detect via ultrasound until it begins to expand due to pregnancy. But, the gynec can use alternative ultrasounds such as transvaginal ultrasound to track the progress of the little one’s development (2).
The good news is that the uterus will mostly begin to enlarge and straighten itself as the woman is nearing the end of the first trimester; this is somewhere between the 10th and the 12th week. In the process, the uterus will elevate from the pelvis, causing it to tip in the outward direction. Quite an uncommon scenario, though there is a slight possibility that the uterus will not tilt forward. This is known as the incarcerated uterus and may result in miscarriage (3).
Yiota has taken it upon herself to spread awareness about how each body is unique. And, she is doing so through her much-followed pregnancy, with over two lakh followers on her social media page.
Yiota says that both she and her baby are perfectly healthy. And, at the end of the day, that is what matters, isn’t it?
