Medical Questions » Female Problems Questions » Question No. 378
| Question: | My doctor commented when doing a Pap smear that my womb was prolapsed. He said I shouldn' t worry about it until it caused problems. What causes a prolapse of the womb? |
| Answer: | The womb (uterus) is where the baby grows during pregnane)' . It therefore has the ability to expand dramatically in size, and is only loosely attached to the rest of the body. The ligaments that support it are stretched during pregnane)' and may not return to their original size, allowing the uterus to move around more freely. The more pregnancies you have, the slacker the ligaments become. With the assistance of gravity, pressure on the abdomen from lifting (eg. the result of pregnancy—children), constipation and lack of fitness it is possible for the womb to slowly slip lower and lower into the pelvis. This causes pressure on the bladder and bowel, leading to problems with these organs.
Eventually, the womb may move all the way down the vagina to expose the cervix (opening or the womb). The main symptoms are discomfort and bladder incontinence. Correction is by best performed by surgery, but elderly women may use specially shaped rings that are inserted into the vagina to keep the womb in place.
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