r/interesting 1d ago

This woman never had a baby bump throughout her pregnancy MISC.

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The baby was totally fine

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u/trexjj2000 1d ago edited 1d ago

Obstetrical/gynaecology sonographer here! Anterior means above or closer to the surface, so you have the right premise but it’s actually the opposite. Most women’s uterus’ sit in a neutral straight up and down position, but everyone’s uterus in reality have a tilt forward or a tilt backwards (posterior tilt) toward the spine. An anterior tilt is called anteflexed and a posterior tilt is called retroverted. A retroverted uterus is super common, and the only downside is Pap tests are a little harder because the cervix is a little harder to find.

However, once a baby is past 20 weeks, the tilt doesn’t matter and the uterus will look the same due to the size of the fetus.

Everyone’s bump size will look different depending on placental location, amniotic fluid levels, fetal abdomen size, and babies position relative to the mother’s organs. Those who have smaller bumps typically have a posterior placental location (placenta is lining the uterus closer to the maternal spine), a lower but normal amniotic fluid range, and baby laying comfortably in a tucked position with head and body low in the hips. A longer maternal torso also means there’s more room to grow up and down rather than out. Other things, such as gestational diabetes will cause the fetal abdomen to be much larger during pregnancy and cause a bigger bump too.

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u/jtaliax 1d ago

the scientific explanation! you’re the best, thank you for sharing :)

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u/Jcbwyrd 1d ago

Interesting! How does a fundal placenta vs an anterior one affect showing? Or is the placental location by itself not enough to say - and just one of the many factors you listed?

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u/catleesimomofkittens 1d ago

I just went to the OBGYN and found out my uterus is super tilted to the right. Is this going to affect how my baby bump will look when the time comes?

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u/ummmwhaaa 1d ago

I was told at a gyno visit well before my 1st pregnancy I had a tilted uterus-is that why they stretched my out so far forward, but I looked normal from the back? I could rest my drinking cup on my belly. I'm 5'2 and my once size 5 feet grew to 7.5 🥲