Anatomical changes of the Mother during pregnancy

bthg · January 2020

Could ladies with a medical health background direct me to websites that can explain the changes of a female body during pregnancy?

I'm struggling to find explanations of where the ovaries are located during the third trimester. Do they stay in the pubis or do their suspensory ligaments follow the broad ligaments up to the diaphragm?

I'm struggling to find so many things.

For example, estrogen apparently thins the muscles of the uterus the first trimester to allow the uterus to stretch. Then how does the body compensate for loss of strength of the walls, surely a new mechanism has to mitigate rapture? I don't mean to protect the fetus, I think that's what the amniotic sac is for, I think, I don't really know. I mean what preserves the integrity of the thinner uterus wall in the third trimester?

Wikipedia tried to explain what is a round ligament, the information is a stub. I found the answer on a disection of a cadaver (medical YouTube channel) but they can't show a pregnant uterus as cadavers are in a normal state.

Alternatively, please recommend me a comprehensive book on the female reproduction system (not fetal development).

MrsTiger123 · January 2020

Hi just lurking from July. The ovaries remain on each upper side on the uterus. They get very small during pregnancy. So they end up well above the umbilicus and as far apart as the uterus is wide. I don’t have a book to cite, but I’m an l&d nurse and have seen many c-sections. As the doctor is repairing, the whole uterus and the ovaries are easily visualized. Sometimes people choose a tubal ligation at this time, too. So I’ve had a good view of this.

The uterus is a strong muscle- as evidenced by the major contractions you have in labor. The upper area is thick. So while it grows and stretches, the integrity remains. Round ligaments are just the muscles in your abdomen that support the uterus. They are kind of by your pubic bones. Those muscles stretch and cause discomfort as your uterus grows - common to see patients with pain around 20 weeks.

If you want to take a deep dive, I’d look for a used Anatomy and physiology book on amazon or at a library. If you want more detailed info of the anatomy in pregnancy, look for a nursing or physician textbook on maternal health.

bthg · January 2020

@MrsTiger123

Oh wow, this is Gold thank you for explaining in detail. I still have not found diagrams of the reproductive system during the third trimester showing ovaries.

I know what round ligaments ate thanks to a muscle app I downloaded.

I'll order some books on maternal health thanks. I bought 2 anatomy books but the reproduction section is thin as the books try to cover the entire body (already thick).

bthg · April 2020

@MrsTiger123

If possible, please guide me below.

I woke up with a huge hard belly button. I went to relief myself (urine) and when I stood, the round hard ball had shifted to the left of the belly button.

I lay in bed and it moved further left and stayed there about 15 minutes before it moved lower left just above the pelvis nested against the uterus which (fundus) reaches the belly button now at 19 weeks.

When I woke up 2 hours later, I could not locate it anywhere. No bump anymore.

The following day, afternoon, I felt a bump against the uterus above the left pelvis again.

The round hard ball does not hurt and does not stay in the position for more than an hour.

Could this be excretion inside intestines or an organ?

Thanks in advance

bthg · May 2020

I discovered th above bump is a fibroid that appears when the fetus kicks it out of the uterine wall.

Question:
when a baby is born inside the amniotic sac,
1. is the umbilical cord still attached to the uterus or
2. does the amniotic sac come out with the placenta (and umbilical cord) or
3. does it vary?

I ask because drawings show the umbilical cord inside the amniotic sac and the placenta starting on the surface of the amniotic sac BUT videos show the cord hanging from the mother's vagina.

rosesintherain · May 2020

@bthg Most of the time you will not deliver baby inside of the amniotic sac. If you do the cord is still attached to the placenta in both cases. As for how the sac comes out you could always ask your doctor

Anatomical changes of the Mother during pregnancy

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