Bicornuate uterus - heavy bleeding

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Hi everyone,

I have recently been diagnosed with this - I'm currently 9 weeks but have had really heavy bleeding on and off since 6 weeks (twice i was convinced it was a miscarriage only to find out there was a heartbeat when I was scanned).

Just wondering if anyone else is going through this at the moment or has done so in the past?

It's a mentally exhausting experience as the hospital don't seem to know exactly where the bleeding is coming from and can't give me any indication if/when it will stop. Reading other's past experiences on forums, it seems like it's something that might go on throughout the pregnancy...:-(

I have a 2 yr old son and had severe bleeding with him at 27 weeks - but I hadn't been diagnosed with this condition at that point so the hospital were mystified by the cause. I think i prefered being in blissful ignorance!

x

Hi, I have a bicornuate uterus too, which I was also unaware of in my first pregnancy. I started bleeding at 7 wks, sure I was having a mc, but they located the bleeding to the right side (baby on left) and also outside of the uterus. They admitted me to hospital as they was worried I was having an ectopic pregnancy as well as a viable. Luckily that bleeding stopped, but there is still bleeding on the right side, unfortunately they said it may continue throughout the pregnancy (now 16 wks.) So I know how you are feeling, but obviously you have the added problem of not knowing where its coming from. Its reassuring everytime you see the heartbeat on the scans, and as the wks go pass you start to feel a bit more positive. Good luck in your pregnancy and hope you get answers regarding where the bleeding is coming from to put your mind at ease.

Thanks for the reply :), it's very reassuring to hear from someone else who's going through the same thing & congrats on your pregnancy :)

When i had the initial bleeding, i was told it was coming from the left side and the baby was on the right - but after the latest bleed they couldn't pinpoint the origin. They did say i have a large clot next to the foetus so that could be a cause.

I was wondering if you work, how you're managing? I am signed off to work from home as (sorry if tmi) a couple of times the bleeding has been a very sudden gush and there's no way i could be in the office.

Hi, I have a unicornuate uterus. Bled from 10+4 to 15+5. I found the most stressful part was that nobody seemed interested in finding the cause and just kept telling us to "wait and hope for the best".

I finally got a diagnosis for the bleeding as a result of being under consultant care due to the uterine abnormality, and the extra scans that come with it. For me it was caused by partial placenta abruption, which has thankfully now reattached but the placenta is very low lying so at risk of further episodes of bleeding.

From what I've read I think it's possible with a bicornuate uterus to have a healthy pregnancy in one side and continue to have regular, period type bleeding from the other, especially if the two sides are non-communicating.

I agree with you about ignorance being bliss but you are higher risk so at least knowing about it means you'll be monitored more closely this time around.

Good luck, I hope you go on to have a healthy pregnancy.

I'm not working at the moment, although I was about to start a teaching assistant course when this happened, so I cancelled it as like you said when you bleed heavily its difficult, plus having to go back and forth to the hospital nearly every wk at the beginning.

I hope your work are being understanding.

I was told this on my first pregnancy.I'd never heard of it. I have two children but they were both born at 37 & 36 weeks. I don't think mine was as severely bi-cornutate as some people's though, more like very heart shaped.. I did bleed for the first week weeks with my dc1. I was determined to be near a hospital.

My sister has this. She didn't bleed throughout but did have a few heavy bleeds to the point where she thought she'd miscarried but she hadn't. She now has two beautiful, healthy children. Hope that offers some sort of reassurance!!?!

Thanks everyone, I do feel reassured knowing that there are people in the same boat who've had successful pregnancies. I'm going to request working from home for a few more weeks, when things will hopefully settle down a bit.
Silver - I haven't heard of unicornuate - will have to google it - who would have thought there were so many uterine abnormalities?!
Good luck to FPA and Silver with your pregnancies.

Hey,

I see this post is from more than 6 years ago, but it is one of the only stories I have found online that is similar to what my wife is experiencing. My wife has a bicornuate uterus, and she just started bleeding heavily at 16 weeks. We had our OB look at everything, and the baby was fine. We were not given any explanation for the bleeding however, but my wife is obviously anxious given the amount of bleeding. Did your doctor’s ever determine why there was bleeding? We would love to chat with someone that has had a similar experience...

Hi @Jackson24,

I’ve just seen this post! I too have just been diagnosed with a bicornuate uterus. It’s reassuring to read the comments from other people that have experienced the same diagnosis - I’d never heard of it before and felt like I was the only one! I’m sorry to hear your wife was experiencing bleeding though, I hope this has calmed down now and the rest of her pregnancy goes smoothly. I’m currently experiencing bleeding myself, started with spotting a week ago but today had a bleed. The only thing is I’m much earlier than your wife, I’m only 7 weeks and 2 days pregnant. I did have a scan a few days ago to figure out why I was spotting, which is when the sonographer diagnosed the bicornuate uterus. She seemed to think the bleeding was coming from the side that wasn’t pregnant. So for me baby is in the right side, which looked all fine on the scan but the left looked like the lining was possibly shedding, which apparently can be because it ‘thinks’ it’s not pregnant? Again, never heard of this before but that was my understanding of it. Have you heard of anything similar from your doctors/sonographers? I’ve got another scan booked in 5 days time so hopefully everything is still ok and maybe they’ll be able to see more of what’s causing the bleeding.

@OneDay86 I also have a bicornuate uterus and am currently 11 weeks pregnant, thankfully no bleeding.

I read your comment and wanted to say that I've heard of women having "monthly periods" when pregnant from the other side of your uterus, because like you said, it doesn't recognise the pregnancy. It doesn't necessarily mean that something isn't right and it's great you already had a scan and are getting another one to make sure all is okay.

Do you know if you have one or 2 cervixes? There's other uterus shapes where monthly bleeds are more common and sometimes one gets misdiagnosed for another. But like I said it's great they're already monitoring you! Hope your next scan goes well.

And apparently we are rare, something like only 1% of women have heart shaped uteruses!

Hi @choccrumpet! Thanks for your reply. Nice to speak to someone else with a bicornuate uterus! Congratulations on your pregnancy, and that’s great you haven’t had any bleeding! Have you had any scans yet?

I’ve heard about the bleeds being related to a ‘monthly period’ so I am wondering if this is what mine is, although it has being going on for 8 days now. It was just spotting and to be honest I thought it was stopping until I had a proper bleed yesterday. This has now gone back to spotting again thankfully.

I’ve has 2 early scans so far and there was a strong heartbeat on both. The bicornuate uterus wasn’t seen on the first scan and was only picked up on the second. Was yours diagnosed on a scan too? I’ve booked a private scan for Sunday just to make sure everything is still ok after this bleed yesterday, the hospital will only scan me again if I have continuous heavy bleeding or bad pain, which luckily I don’t. But this is my first pregnancy and I’m so anxious, so I caved and booked a private scan too. Hopefully everything is still all ok.

No ones mentioned two cervixes to me… but I may ask next time. I know some of the uterine anomalies are hard to diagnose by scan sometimes. I also have a tilted uterus too, which I’ve heard is a bit more common than a bicornuate uterus.

Yes we are definitely a rarity by the sound of it! 1% is so small! A heart-shaped uterus sounds much nicer than bicornuate 😂 Hope the rest of your pregnancy goes smoothly. For me these first 7 weeks have felt like an eternity!

@OneDay86 I know it is so nice to speak to someone else in the same position! I don't know anyone in my real life who's got one. Thank you! Congratulations on your pregnancy! I had one private scan at 6 weeks and saw the heartbeat and have my 12 week scan end of this week so hoping everything looks as it should.

That is strange, I think it is extremely common to have bleeding in early pregnancy but better to get it checked out than not. Glad it's back to spotting, hopefully it stays that way. I can only imagine how worrying it must be for you.

I had an nhs scan earlier this year to check my ovaries and uterus and that's where it was diagnosed and it was picked up again at my private scan. Have you had your booking in appointment yet? Has your midwife referred you to a consultant? Mine has and he's scheduled 2 extra scans at 28 & 36 weeks for me. If a private scan helps you be less anxious then do it. You're doing the right thing to check up on baby and hopefully everything looks good.

If they haven't mentioned more than 1 cervix to you then you probably have the 1. I've heard of tilted uteruses and apparently they tilt the other way eventually when baby is bigger.

Yes doesn't it sound a lot nicer than it is 😅 it's been a long 11 weeks for me too. I'm anxious to see how baby is fitting with the septum going down the middle, that's the part I worry about. My consultant said that I have a higher chance of the baby being breech and that was it. He didn't say anything else was a worry, rightly or wrongly 🤣🙃 so will see how I get on. You're more than halfway through now. Try still enjoy whatever you do at the moment to help the time go by quicker, it's not easy!

Please be prepared ladies that with a septum you have a higher chance of a prem baby. The consultants insisted that we didn't but there is lots and lots of research done to say that you do, and when my baby was born 2months early they then agreed.

I also had loads of bleeding but my little girl is here now and wonderful.

@October2020 I have obviously read all about the worst case scenarios so was surprised when all my consultant mentioned was that baby has a higher chance of being breech. I've definitely got a prem baby in the back of my head though! Glad to hear she is doing well 🤗

Mine was breech too - I think the reasoning is because most babies start off breech and spin round later but there is less space and so it is harder/impossible to turn round.

@October2020 did you end up having a c section if you don't mind me asking? I'm curious whether my birthing options are limited but so far nobody has said so, only depending on how things are at the time of course.

Yes partially because she was breech (and born at 32 weeks) and partially because they weren't sure if she'd get out past the septum which comes through my cervix (for me, not for everyone). My IVF consultant was adamant she couldn't pass the septum, hospital consultant adamant I should and could deliver vaginally. Decision was finalised when we realised she was breech. Although then they didn't believe I was in labour and I was fully dilated with her feet out by the time I had the c section so she definitely could have come vaginally (but there was no way of knowing before trying it).

@October2020 wow that must have been tough for you to deal with mentally and I'm sure physically! I think my septum goes about halfway down but nobody really gives me much info unless I ask! Didn't even know I had a septum until a second ultrasound. Glad she is here and healthy now ☺️ helps me feel less anxious about it all because of my uterus

You'll be okay. Having a prem (if you do, which which definitely might not!) is scary but it isn't the end of the world. You'd never know if you met my little one except that she is small for her age. You're very welcome to message me if you'd like someone there to cheer you on. You'll be fine. Let me know how you get on!

I’m relieved to hear other women have experienced this. I’m currently 10 weeks. At 9 weeks pregnant I had my first ultrasound, everything was good, then about 12 hours later I had light red bleeding. Nervous something happened I went straight to the ER where I was diagnosed with a bicornate uterus. I went to my OB the next day and she confirmed the same. Baby boy is in my right horn and the bleeding was/is coming from the left horn. She said this could last my entire pregnancy or even just sporadically. The bleeding went away around midway through the week and came back with a vengeance yesterday at exactly 10 weeks. Thankfully I meet with my OB tomorrow. I’m hoping for a healthy baby despise the anxiety I’ve had the last week or so, I told my partner I know it’s a boy because of the trouble he’s already causing! Lol. I’m curious to know if anyone has had surgery for their biocornuate uterus or not? This is my first pregnancy and I hope to have surgery to remove the divide after the baby arrives.

@babyboy2022 first of all congratulations on your pregnancy! It must be difficult having the bleeding but sounds like it should be nothing to be worried about. Nobody has mentioned surgery to me but I have heard of women getting it removed if they're having a c section, at the same time as having the baby so it's all done in one go. I've also heard that doctors say there's no need to remove the septum's for others. You should speak to your doctor about it.

I'll be asking about it later on when I get the chance and I suppose once we see how the baby is developing, whether it's in the way or not. There's someone on Instagram that has had that surgery pre pregnancy. I haven't heard of many others.
https://instagram.com/mummataralouise?utmmedium=copyy_link

Hi I have a bicornuate uterus and this is my second pregnancy after having a mc in Jan

I'm 11 weeks and have started to bleed like a period... I find that no professionals want to help me and just tell me to go to a&e... I did prepare to have a miscarriage and deal with it myself as last time a&e told me to go home and gave me an appointment in two days time at the epu in that time I passed my sac anyway.

The bleeding is just like a period but not heavy.

This time I have decided to just attend my 12 week scan this Friday.

If anyone has any information or advice I would be grateful for thanks

You could be like me, my left horn had the bleeding while my right horn held the baby. Your ultrasound tech can confirm for sure though. I hope all goes well for you!

@Liss83 I’m so sorry to hear about your previous loss.

It’s so scary when you see bleeding, especially when it’s happened before for you with a mc, I completely understand your worry, but it’s not always a definite bad sign. I’ve read so many stories where women have bled, sometimes red period like bleeding, and have gone on to have normal pregnancies. Have you got any cramping/pain with the bleeding? I would definitely get it checked out though. Could you contact your EPU tomorrow? They should really bring your scan forward. Or if it gets heavy and or/painful before tomorrow I would personally get checked out at A&E.

It’s also worth mentioning, that when I was diagnosed with a bicornuate uterus the sonographer and nurse said that you’re more prone to bleeding in pregnancy than people with a ‘normal’ shaped uterus. This is because the side that hasn’t got the baby in, doesn’t always realise it’s pregnant so the lining can shed on that side only, which doesn’t affect the baby implanted in the other side. So it’s possible it could be this.

Really hope everything works out all ok for you

Hi all thank you so much for your messages

The bleeding is easing off and has been bearable like I said just like a period really I feel what's the point I might as well wait till Friday.

My GP referred me to Gynae but haven't herd anything from them and my midwife has put me at a low risk pregnancy and said they probably wouldn't do anything for me because of covid I just feel I don't have enough medical support really.