The uterus is a phenomenon: without it, no baby could grow safely in the female body and be born naturally. This is because no other organ in our body can change its size to such an extreme extent as the uterus during the course of a pregnancy.
Accordingly, the womb (Latin: uterus) symbolises femininity and maternity more than almost any other organ. It has therefore fuelled fantasies throughout human history and has also given rise to some strange myths. This is not only reflected in its historical names such as "God's workplace", "womb of the earth" or "woman's oven". In ancient times, for example, the uterus was called "hystera" by the Greeks - and you can probably guess that the term "hysteria" was also derived from this. Hysterical women - a term that is still used by some people today. At least in its origins, it was based on the bizarre idea that the uterus would move around in the female body if the woman did not have sex for a long time and did not become pregnant. It was seriously believed that this condition would sooner or later trigger physical or psychological crises in her because reproduction was a woman's very own destiny and an "ideal state" that would make her balanced.
Fortunately, we know better today! So let's take a closer look at the uterus and how it works.
A remarkable organ
We are talking about a hollow organ about 7 to 9 centimetres long, about 3 centimetres thick and 5 centimetres wide. In women, it is embedded in the pelvis between the bladder and rectum. The shape of the uterus is often compared to an upside-down pear. The uterus of an adult, non-pregnant woman normally weighs between 50 and 120 grams.
The uterus is divided anatomically: The upper two thirds are called the uterine body. This includes the uterine cavity on the inside. The two fallopian tubes also open into this cavity, which branch off to one side and the other at the upper end of the uterus and each lead to an ovary. The lower narrow "third of the pear" is called the cervix. Its small opening towards the uterine cavity is the inner Cervix. The opening at the other end towards the vagina is the outer Cervix.
The uterus consists mainly of muscles that are surrounded on the outside by a connective tissue envelope. Inside, the uterine lining lines the uterus. The so-called uterine ligaments made of connective tissue attach the uterus to the pelvis and keep it in a mobile floating position.
The monthly cycle
Every month, the uterus prepares itself anew to receive a fertilised egg in its mucous membrane. During ovulation, a mature egg travels from an ovary through the fallopian tube into the uterus. Here, the hormones oestrogen and progesterone have already ensured that the mucous membrane inside has been built up further and is well supplied with blood. This allows a fertilised egg to implant there and be supplied with nutrients in order to grow.
The cervical mucosa seals the cervix so that sperm cannot pass through. However, shortly before ovulation, the mucus changes to clear the way for fertilisation.
If the egg is not fertilised, it dies and leaves your body. The hormone level drops again and the uterine muscles contract so that the top layer of the uterine lining detaches and can be shed. Women can experience these contractions of varying intensity as menstrual pain. Blood now flows out through the vagina from torn mucosal vessels and tissue: Your period starts. The first day of your period marks day one of your cycle. This ends on the last day before your next period and lasts an average of 28 days.
Let's take another little excursion into the realm of myths and legends about these processes: It used to be believed that women would release a poison ("menotoxin") during their menstrual period that would cause food in particular to spoil. For this reason, no woman was allowed to come into too close contact with milk or wine during her period so that these foods would not turn "sour" or the yeast dough would not rise. It was also previously believed that jam cooked by a woman during her period would go mouldy more quickly.
Poor women who were exposed to such ideas, weren't they? No wonder they felt "unclean" during menstruation. And let's be honest: such strange ideas have not been completely eradicated to this day.
The uterus during pregnancy
The lining of the uterus is not shed if a fertilised egg implants in it. This is due to the hormone progesterone, which the ovaries continue to release. In this way, the uterine lining continues to grow to nourish the egg or embryo.
A part of the embedded "cell cluster" now develops into the Placentawhich takes over the further care of the child after a few weeks. The embryo develops from the other part of the "clump of cells". Well protected in its amniotic sac, it now lies in the uterus and grows. The uterus grows and expands with it. At the end of the pregnancy, the organ weighs around 1,300 grams and has now almost reached the size of two footballs. Phenomenal, isn't it! The uterine cavity can reach a volume of up to five litres. No other organ in the body can change and expand as much as this one.
The uterus as Obstetrician
You know that the uterus consists mainly of muscles. This makes it the best obstetrician in the world. Because the Labour labour is nothing more than the (rhythmic) contraction of the uterine muscles. Towards the end of pregnancy, the uterus is already training for the big day with so-called training contractions. Once the birth has begun, the "real" contractions bring the baby into the correct position for birth and push it downwards. These muscle contractions also cause the cervix to open.
The intensity of pain experienced by the woman giving birth varies from person to person and depends heavily on the individual woman's personal experience of pain. You can find out more about labour pain here read.
After the birth, the uterus regresses within about six weeks and returns to almost its original size. You can support it with gentle postnatal exercises. Your midwife knows the right exercises for this. You can also ask me about this in my online counselling contact.
In my opinion, targeted, professionally supervised postnatal exercises are very important and should be distinguished from postnatal gymnastics. These are very specific exercises for your pelvic floor, abdominal and back muscles as well as for the neck and shoulder area. They help your body to regenerate and to be able to function without problems and pain in the long term. Such a Postnatal course you can also do online with me. Then you'll know exactly what you need to pay attention to - and you can decide for yourself when and where you want to do your postnatal exercises.
5 responses
Super exciting article. Before I got pregnant, I didn't think much about the uterus and its function. And now, looking back on the pregnancy and birth, it's remarkable what this organ and our body can do. How it works and simply creates a little person 🙂