In plain words
The fundus is the top part of the uterus. A provider finds it by pressing gently on the belly. In pregnancy, the distance from the pubic bone to the fundus, in centimeters, roughly matches the number of weeks after about 20 weeks. After birth, the uterus shrinks back toward its usual size. Clinicians expect the fundus to sink lower each day for the first couple of weeks. They check that the uterus is firm and contracting. A fundus that stays high, feels soft, or is tender can be a sign that a clinician will want to look into. Mothers often notice this as cramping during feeds. By about two weeks, the fundus usually can no longer be felt through the belly.
The deeper version
Symphysis-fundal height is measured in centimeters from the upper edge of the pubic symphysis to the uterine fundus. It tracks gestational age from about 20 to 36 weeks, with accuracy limited by fetal position, maternal body habitus, and the examiner. Postpartum, the uterus involutes at roughly one centimeter a day, reaching the pelvis by about day 10 to 14 and no longer palpable abdominally by about two weeks (Cunningham and colleagues, Williams Obstetrics, 26th edition, 2022). A fundus that fails to descend, or one that is boggy or displaced, prompts evaluation for retained products, infection, bladder distension, or bleeding. Tenderness and asymmetry are assessed too. Measurement varies between examiners, and the postpartum descent rate is a teaching standard drawn from clinical observation rather than a controlled trial.
Where it comes up
- Afterpains: cramping while nursingPostpartum: Your Body
- Heavy bleeding after birth (hemorrhage)Birth and the First Days
- Blood clots: the signs to knowPostpartum: Your Body
- Cesarean recovery, week by weekPostpartum: Your Body
What mothers here say about fundal height
No one has posted under this term yet.
Sources
- Cunningham FG and colleagues — Williams Obstetrics, 26th edition (2022)
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — Practice Bulletin 183: Postpartum hemorrhage (2017)