pregnancy with double uterus - UTERUS DIDELPHYS

[piercey]

Hi all,

Has anyone out here experienced or going through pregnancy with a double uterus?

I found out about mine when i was 18 and am now 30 at week 12 with first pregnancy :) i know all the risks etc and so far so good but i want to know if anyone had unusual discomfort or sensation during pregnancy? I've come up with a few symptoms that have baffled the docs, they are not life threatening but feel unusual so im suspecting its to do with the unusual uteri?

The first is i can already feel the baby in the left uterus(conf thats where it is), it sits on my left hip and its uncomfy to bend left leg at the hip for a long time. thats not so unusual its more the following.

The second is last few days i have a really heavy sensation down below, and the feeling like i was 'loosing a tampon', docs have ruled out prolapse and bladder infection, i get heavy sensation during period which the doc thought was odd and this is just a stronger version of that.

I have 2 cervix's and find them really sensitive, i sometimes get shooting pains in them(this was b4 i was preggers) does anyone else get this?

think am looking for some comfort, have gone through the rigmarol for years of it being an unusual thing anyway so tying to find this kind of advice of what its actually like during pregnancy is really difficult :confused: also am wondering how much is normal, just not normal as experienced by most women with normal anatomy who Ive spoken to :(

xx

xx

@Seasprayandsunshine how strange - I have the same issues with bending on that side- putting shoes on my right foot etc . Also with the twin pregnancy- were yours in the same uterus ? Mine were both in the right. I’ve had it very easy so far and I feel so so lucky given the other issues- no sickness, no heartburn or headaches. I’ve had very bad restless legs in the night but this is something I had prior to pregnancy so expected this!
Very excited to meet little one in 3 weeks time! I will definitely keep you updated - please let me know how your pregnancy progresses and let me know if you have any issues or questions and need someone who might understand!! Xxx

@Seasprayandsunshine
Hello everyone! Update- Baby was born at 36+1 following the consultants decision to begin induced labour due to showing up small on growth scans.
Went into hospital on Wednesday at 3 pm (bang on 36 wks) and was in induced labour for around 10 hours before Drs decided to take me for emergency section due to baby’s heart rate fluctuating along with other risk indicators.
Baby was born at 04:27 pm weighing just 4lbs 9 oz but he is incredibly strong and we were discharged 2 days after. Baby still has slight jaundice and feeding is somewhat of a challenge but we are slowly getting there. He is our Tiny miracle and we feel very blessed

@Prinprin17 @Seasprayandsunshine
Hi ladies, thank you so much for sharing your stories and congratulations on your new baby @prinprin17! It’s comforting to hear you’ve had a success pregnancy. I’m 31yrs old, 10+3 at the moment, didelphys with 2 cervix and a removed septum also (had surgery at 19). I’ve just had my first OB appointment this afternoon and have been told I’ll need to be closely monitored and there are heightened risks that my uterus won’t grow big enough to accommodate the baby.

Is there anything in particular you did with lifestyle / diet that helped in anyway? It’s hard to be told that you can’t do much to influence the outcome either way...

Your stories alone provide great comfort, so thank you both for sharing

@Prinprin17 CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
Amazing news, I'm so so pleased your precious bundle is here safely and you were discharged from hospital so soon 🥰

I hope your delivery wasn't too traumatic? Did they have any advice or learnings to share with you from your C sec? Enjoy your precious baby boy 💙

Hi @Kiwicountrygal massive congratulations on your pregnancy!
I was only saying to my DH yesterday that my hospital/consultant have been very laid back about my condition - in a good way, I feel supported but not overly worried. They apparently see loads of didelphys pregnancies every year which makes me feel somewhat reassured.
I haven't done anything differently really, I'm not sure there would be much we could do other than to just be aware of potential complications etc.

I have just started my growth scans and baby is measuring great for gestation and still has plenty of room, she's jammed herself into an odd, but must be comfy position and has caused some internal bruising with her kicks but the most important thing is that she stays on her growth curve now. I am taking it easy (I feel heavy and achy now) and eating well but otherwise keeping fingers crossed 🤞🏻

@Seasprayandsunshine that’s great to hear! Thank you for replying to me. Although there’s not a lot, anything I’ve read about didelphys and women’s personal experience with pregnancy has largely been positive as long as medical professionals do extra monitoring and are aware of your condition.

That’s comforting to know your baby is growing well and isn’t too squished in there! I’m going to remain positive and carry on as normal. I was just a little shocked yesterday at my first OB appointment when (rightly so) my OB made me aware of all of the potential risks, it was a bit of information overload. He’s dealt with 6 cases in his 30 year career, which for our population size feels high and all had successful outcomes.

I wish you all the best in your final stages and wishing you the best of luck for a calm and easy delivery. Please let me know how you get on!

And thanks again for replying and sharing your story, who knew strangers from multiple parts of the world (with multiple uteruses I might add ) can bring such comfort! Thank you x

I have posted in infertility too but might find more help here- I'm 31, ttc first child for 8 months give or take. Have 2 wombs and 2 cervixes, septum removed age 19. At the time no major fertility issues were mentioned rather that I would probably need a caesarean. I was later told I may only have one working side so might only conceive on alternate months thus lowering chances. I've been to the GP today for a follow up after I had some odd spotting and a scan and asked the GP about the chances of conceiving-she told me it was unlikely I would be able to without assistance and has started fertility investigations (obviously with my agreement) but I'm quite shocked. I knew the condition might make it harder to conceive naturally but didn't think this was nigh on impossible. I'm not sure if she is trying to cover all bases-she kept mentioning my age and not to wait too long or I won't be as good a candidate for IVF. Wondered what you ladies with the same condition think to all this?

Thank you for reading

Hi @Esmerelda1988
You’ve come to the right place! I’m 31, have 2 uterus, 2 cervix and had the same surgery as you at 19 after my didelphys was discovered.

Have you been to see a fertility specialist? I’ve never heard of didelphys having an affect on fertility itself, only that once you’ve conceived there’s a risk of either womb not being able to stretch enough to carry a baby to full term. I would investigate whether there’s additional things at play when it comes to your fertility perhaps?

Firstly, 8 months is a completely normal window of trying time, so try (I know it’s hard) to not worry that “things aren’t happening” it can take up to 12 months for a “normal couple” to conceive naturally.

When we started trying a few friends gave me some advice which I hope might be helpful. You might already being some of these but perhaps try:

1. track your ovulation using ovulation strips so you ACTUALLY KNOW what day you ovulate each month to give you an accurate “baby making time”. If I had gone by the Day 14 “average” we’d still be trying... I actually ovulate on Day 19/20 of my cycle so for the first few months we weren’t even aiming for the right target!

2. Try Fertility Acupuncture and manage your stress. This may have been a placebo affect but it totally helped me managed my stress (and worry of not being to conceive) and got blood flow moving to the right places to help conception “stick”

3. Plan fun things to do around your ovulation window each month. This sounds silly but it totally helped. If you’re like me you’d be counting down the days each month and putting pressure on yourself to “make it happen”. I’m such a Type A person that having something out of my control was hard! So I’d always plan lunches with girlfriends, special dates or walks along the beach or nights out with my husband so I was always happy and ... slightly distracted around my ovulation time so the focus was on enjoying being together rather than just “doing the deed”.

4. Try and get specialist care (not sure what country you’re in but we have a choice here of a midwife or an OB and the price difference is unfortunately huge). We saved to afford and OB now that we’re pregnant and I get much closer monitoring and more specialist expertise of a DR who’s dealt with Didelphys before.

5. Do plenty of research yourself and don’t just take one professional’s opinion as the singular view, there’s a lot of unknown about our condition, so be careful not to take one point of view as gospel.

I hope that’s potentially helpful, those things worked for me and I’m now 12 weeks pregnant with my first baby. I think the main thing is to manage your stress and worry because that can have a HUGE affect on your fertility. Try and focus on the small things you can control and leave the rest up to timing (coming from a planner/ Type A person) I know that’s incredible hard to do, but try your best.

I hope that reading this thread and knowing there are other women out there with your exact same condition who have either had successful conceptions and pregnancies or have conceived and are now pregnant provides you with some comfort and know that it will happen for you, just perhaps not on the exact time frame you want it to. Best of luck and let us know how you get on xx

@Kiwicountrygal thank you so much-that's all really helpful and reassuring. I'm in the UK so using the NHS. I have seen specialists before but they talked mainly about pregnancy complications rather than fertility issues, so I'd always assumed that conception wasn't the issue. I will go ahead with the blood tests and sperm sample for my partner I think (this could take ages to happen anyway) just to check there isn't anything additional like you say. Like you maybe I'm not good at not being able to fix everything that's wrong and have occasional medical anxiety probably due to all my strange abnormalities (it doesn't stop at the reproductive system unfortunately). I agree that 8 months isn't long at all and I'm not sure why I'm being sent down the IVF route so soon, it's quite upsetting as I thought that was a long way off. I do track ovulation and am trying to DTD not just around that time but all through the month. Will keep you posted-thank you so much, it's really reassuring. Best of luck with your pregnancy

@Kiwicountrygal
P.s how long did it take you to conceive if you don't mind me asking?

Hi @Esmerelda1988
It’s worth considering all options, especially if your health care provider is going to “investigate fertility options” for you - say yes to everything I say until you get a real sense of what you’re dealing with. Then you can make some informed decisions.

I got a blood test to check my AMH levels and my husband (reluctantly) got his sperm checked. He is 39, so we thought given his age we better make sure.

We were unofficially trying for 3 months as I was pretending I could be “chill” about just letting things happen naturally, then officially with ovulation strips, distracting myself with fun things and focusing on healthy eating & exercise for 3 months - so long story short - 6 months, pregnant on the 6th “try”. BUT... try not to compare yourself to anyone else. Again, I know this is hard. Focus on what you can control, explore all options available to you, prioritise managing your stress or anxiety (I actually believe this is half of not most of the conception battle) and leave the rest up to timing.

You’ll get there! X

When and how did you all find out you had a septum?
After removing the septum, did period pains go away?

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the group it's actually the first feed that has a lot to do with double uterus and pregnancy.
So I have 2 uterus and 2 cervics both fully functional I do how ever only have the one kidney and some other abnormalities. I am currently waiting to do the test but just wanted to see how others like me stories ended weather be good or bad. Drs have explained to me that I am high risk that the whole duration of pregnancy I will be in hospital and can only carry to 32 weeks via c section so it's a little daunting to say the least I'm the only one like me in my family and drs say there isn't really anyone like me either which they kind of see me like a test subject but that's ok all in all I know I'm blessed and fingers and toes crossed 🤗 any words of wisdom I would muchly appreciate

Hi @Georgie141087
I’m 17+1 with double uterus, double cervix like you and have had a normal pregnancy to date (just needed extra monitoring with my Dr to check growth). I’ve never been told I need to stay in hospital the the whole time or I would deliver at 32 weeks, although there is a risk of delivering prematurely. I would make sure you’re getting more than one professional opinion and you find specialists in your country who have dealt with didelphys before. Best of luck! X

@Seasprayandsunshine
Hi there! Hoping everything went well with the birth of your little girl? Just checking if you made it to term or had to deliver early? And did you give birth naturally or via c-section? Starting to think about preparing myself for all possibilities!

Thank you Kiwicountrygal
For reply it kinda nice to know someone out there with the same thing I went to the dr today for bloods get my test results sat fingers crossed just wondering what type of symptoms did u have with your pregnancy I know everyone's differs but sort of things to look out for as I am nervous
Thank you again 🤗

Hi @Kiwicountrygal still pregnant over here 🖐🏻🤰

35w2d today, and I have my next consultant appointment Wednesday next week. Baby is head down and has been since 28 weeks, tracking nicely just below the 50th centile line and was estimated at 4lb at my 32w scan.

I have been giving serious thought to birth over this past week and I think I'm going to ask for an elective. When I first found out baby was head down and looking to stay that way I was excited that I may get a vaginal birth, however the more I think about it the more I don't feel comfortable with the risks and the extremely high probability that it would end in emergency c sec anyway. The most important thing for me is baby's safe arrival and elective c sec will ensure the best chance of that.

I could be swayed if my consultant is knowledgable and confident, however I haven't seen the same consultant twice all pregnancy - I've only ever had one internal exam (pre pregnancy) from gynae which failed to notice my septum. I don't want to get to labour for them to realise my wonky womb and anatomy isn't going to co operate as they assume so we end up in a distressed situation for me and baby taking unnecessary risks.

I hope I don't have a fight on my hands but I am prepared for it.

How are you doing?

Hi @Georgie141087
I’ve been very lucky so far, we didn’t have a hard time getting pregnant and I’ve had very little morning sickness. Just extremely tired! The best advise to give is to just try and relax, of all the challenges that women face on their fertility journey, didelphys can be managed with specialist care (at least you know what you’re dealing with, so many women don’t). Just get a few opinions and be your own advocate x

@Seasprayandsunshine that’s amazing you’ve made it to 35 weeks! That gives me so much comfort, my OB has mentioned we’ll “assess at 30” a few times and I keep thinking unless there’s a huge risk, I’m not getting this baby out any earlier than 35.

It sounds like you’ve done some very rationale thinking about your options. I think we can sometimes feel influenced by the opinions of professionals (which is important to consider) but remember you know your body best, you know the depth of your personal history (where as as you say, you’ve not seen the same person twice so they’re only going off the information they have to hand) so be firm and be your own advocate when it comes to making decisions (and make sure your husband is clear on what you want to to support you in those conversations).

I’m so happy things are going relatively smoothly for you (despite your impending decisions about labour) it gives me great comfort for what’s ahead for me. I’ve had the easiest pregnancy so far so I hope it continues that way.

Keep me posted on where you end up and best of luck for the next few weeks x

So my my period ended up being 7 days late very rarely dose that happen I felt a pop on my left side thurs night which I've never had before then I started bleeding pink so I'm not overly fussed all negative test results for pregnancy but I've only bled for 2 1/2 days but really bright red blood so a little confused as to what is going on other symptoms I still have is cramping only on left side, food aversion really bad dizzy spells , fatigue. So my question now is what is considered normal can u still bleed and be pregnant in the other uterus my drs honestly do not get it as I've been put in the to hard box and no one will give me a straight answer I know when I don't feel right and this just dosent feel right 😔😔😔😔

@Georgie141087 I've been told different things re each uterus acting independently, some say if I got pregnant that the non pregnant uterus would 'do its own thing' and others that say due to the increase in hormones it would all shut down. Have you ever seen a specialist? I would ask to be referred if I were you, I go to Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea hospital, disorders of reproductive development department. It's horrible feeling like your doctors don't understand what's going on and in all likelihood they don't, so go and see someone who knows. I expect your GP will be glad to pass you over to someone more experienced if they're anything like mine!

Hi ladies,

I forgot about this thread. I posted back in 2018 when I was TTC.
I am currently nearly 34 weeks. I had 4 miscarriages last year, but they never found a reason for it... said it could have been to do with the didelphys, but they didn't know. I've had progesterone pessaries since BFP with this pregnancy though, and it seems to have helped. Only coming off them tomorrow as they aren't advised after 34 weeks. I've had really close monitoring with this pregnancy and most likely a planned C-section (or emergency one if baby comes early). This was recommended by my consultant as I had my left womb removed years ago and so they are worried the scar tissue could burst if they allow me to labour.
Growth scans have shown a slight tailing of growth and my amniotic fluid levels had gone down at my last check... I have another growth scan tomorrow which I am slightly nervous about. Getting very uncomfortable now. Baby is all over to the right side and getting under my ribs... Not sure how much more room she has to grow in there...

@Seasprayandsunshine it makes a lot of sense to go for a planned c-section. Sorry to hear you've been seen by so many different doctors, that must make it hard to feel that you're being properly followed from A-Z.

@Georgie141087 Have you taken a test? My first pregnancy I bled and I thought I was having a very quick/light period. Only tested because the cramping continued after I stopped bleeding and I felt bloated. Got the shock of my life. The pregnancy sadly ended in MC a few weeks later, but I don't think that was connected to the bleeding.

@Seasprayandsunshine I have gone to the drs and the hospital both tested negative which is fine I bleed twice a month it's kind of concerning for me when my period was way to late because I track it so I know. The bleeding had stopped but still getting really annoying cramping on my left side and vomiting and dizziness my GP just said because I'm different keep a eye on things and i go back after christmas for an ultrasound until then i wait
hettysdrawers I live in Queensland Australia the main hospital I go to is 24 hrs away and that's where my specialist are unfortunately there isn't much information these doctors give me as they struggle to even manage my condition so they go in blinded I'm more of a test subject for them as they don't see many people like me. I'm sure I'll be fine but I thank you all for giving me guidance through this we are all truely blessed

Hi all, I've posted here before when TTC and am now 16 weeks. Just wondered if anyone had experienced this in pregnancy? I noticed whilst lying down today a really significant lump sticking up on the left side (womb the baby is in) and am just really freaked out by it! I'm very slim so I guess this is why it's more visible but it's really odd to look at. Also feel very tight on that side, quite an odd sensation. Anybody else have any strange symptoms?

@Esmerelda1988 Hello! I’m currently 17+4 pregnant with double uteruses and double cervixes. I had my vaginal Septum removed when I was 17. This is my first pregnancy. Baby is in my R uterus and I have also been feeling a lot of tightness and pressure on that side. I haven’t noticed a large bump as you described but sometimes my bump is starting to look a little lopsided??

So glad that I’ve found this page! I really haven’t been able to find out much information or met other people with our condition, so this page is so helpful.

Does anyone know if they had pains down in their cervix area of their vagina while pregnant? I don’t know if I’m just imagining it or what? Also, was your round ligament pains much worse on the side of your pregnant womb? How long did it last for? TIA for tips and information.

@RNeeds9 so nice to hear from someone! The bump is normal I have confirmed, just freaked me out a bit. I have shooting cervix pains too. Are you having your cervical length monitored? I was told I'm high risk of pre term labour and at my 12 week scan measured just above the limit for intervention, I'm now on progesterone. I only have pains on the left side where the baby is, either cramps or unnerving stabs. Are you consultant led?