The vagina isn?t positioned vertically within the pelvis - it is angled towards the lower back. In most women, the uterus is tipped forward so that it lies over the bladder, with the top (fundus) towards the abdominal wall. Another normal variation found in some women is the upright uterus, where the fundus is straight up.

About one quarter of women have a retroverted uterus. This means the uterus is tipped backwards so that its fundus is aimed toward the rectum. While a retroverted uterus doesn?t cause problems in most cases, some women experience symptoms including painful sex. Other names for retroverted uterus include tipped uterus, retroflexed uterus and uterine retrodisplacement.

Symptoms
Generally, a retroverted uterus does not cause any problems. If problems do occur, it will probably be because the woman has an associated disorder like endometriosis. A disorder like this could cause the following symptoms:

• Painful sexual intercourse
• The woman-on-top position during sex usually causes the most discomfort
• Period pain (particularly if the retroversion is associated with endometriosis)