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About sexual difficulties
Intercourse discomfort from tilted uterus
Originally Published: January 25, 2002
 

Dear Alice,

Re: Curious about her body — What is my penis hitting? As a younger woman, I had trouble with pain during intercourse because I have a tilted uterus. Thirty percent of women do. When the penis pushed against my uterus, it went back toward my backbone and got crunched instead of up toward my less hard belly, like a normal uterus. Changing position, taking a break, more arousal... all help.

 

Dear Reader,

A backward-tilted (retroverted) uterus is not as common as a forward-tilted (anteverted) one, but it is still considered normal in most cases. Approximately 1/3 of all tilted uteruses are retroverted. For women who have a tilted uterus, sexual intercourse can sometimes be uncomfortable because of pressure on the rectum and ligaments of the coccyx bone. Changing sexual position, as you've mentioned, can often help relieve discomfort.

However, if pain on deep thrusting is frequently present and/or there is severe dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation), a gynecological evaluation needs to be done. That's because a retroverted uterus can also be associated with conditions such as endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).

Alice

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