2 wombs and 2 cervix and scared!

[Mumtobenovember]

Hi everyone,
I am 6 months pregnant with my first baby and have a condition called uterus didelphys; this means I have 2 cervix and 2 separate wombs I'm carrying my baby girl in the right womb.. I'm just really scared no one really knows anything about it drs seem baffled and I don't feel supported at all.. Has anyone had a successful pregnancy with a uterine abnormality? The risks of pre term labour and medical intervention are scaring me :(

I really have no advice for you but hate to see your post go answered. Did you know you had this condition before You were pregnant?

How many weeks are you? I presume you're well into the 20's now so with every day and week that passes it means your baby girl is growing and getting stronger.
Keep positive.

Have you googled it to see are there support groups or discussion forums?

My friend has 2 of everything too and has had 4 children. pregnancies were fine but she had sections for them all as the weird uterus makes mal position more likely so she ended up with transverse babies etc.

Can you get an appointment with your consultant to talk things through?

Sorry, realised you said drs seemed baffled. In which case you might need to get a bit stroppy and demand to be referred to an obstetric consultant who knows about the condition, even if this means transferring to another hospital. You need to be able to talk your fears through and get information so that you can make choices about your care and feel happy in your pregnancy.

I knew before I fell pregnant, at the beginning they said I would be a high risk pregnancy and that I would be monitored more- then I heard my midwife say to her assistant that they don't get anymore money for me! Then I went to see a consultant and she didn't even have any of my files (MRI images) internal scan pics or anything and she drew a shit diagram on a piece of paper saying this is your womb.. And she said you will be ok come back at 36 weeks and we will see her position!! The risk is I won't even make it to 36 weeks!!! Just feel they are too strained to give me the care I require! So I'm just plodding along scared and confused.. I'm 25 weeks so glad ive made it this far! Thanks for replies

I have a bicornuate uterus and my Ds only grew in one half of my womb. My bump was mostly on one side.

I was monitored throughout and told the greater risk was eRly pregnancy (1st trimester) as risk of miscarriage.

I had quite a few minor bleeds throughout and a few overnight stays for monitoring. I know this sounds scary but my care was excellent and clued up medical team was a big part of it.

I was induced in the end when I went overdue because they wanted to minimise risk. Again, great staff.

My Ds was quite small at 6 pounds but perfectly fine, as was I.

My best advice is to make sure you have regular midwife appointments and don't hesitate to go to the hospital at any time you feel something is not right and every time tell them about your condition - even of it is right in front of them on your notes.

Good luck. If you want to know anything else, please ask.

My SIL's mother has this (came up in conversation about pap smears!!), her pregnancies were all fine... apparently in early weeks you can ovulate on other side and conceive twins on diff dates!!

I think it might be worth you pushing for extra support or attention. Depending where you live you could ask to see a specialist consultant or ask for your consultant to contact someone at another hospital for advice (e.g. if you're like me to far from the next hospital along).

Are there any support groups online you could look for support from? Is there a specialist in your condition that you have been to you could ask to get in touch with your midwife?

Rant Warning
In the NHS they might get the same money for someone with all sorts of complications who requires a lot of extra monitoring as they do for someone who has a straightforward pregnancy but they should give the care that is needed for that person not give the minimum to all. The NHS is a service to provide us all with the care we need. NOT a business who needs to make maximum profit. The problem is it is going more down that route now, especially when private companies become involved.

As a teacher I don't get paid more for children who need special attention and support but I give them each what they need. I'm getting a new girl into my class next year who has a syndrome I'd never heard of before. I have put time into researching this and how best to support her and contacted those (SALT, OT) who can give me further advice. This is extra work that I don't have to do for most children but I don't begrudge the little girl or her parents that extra time (it's what summer holidays are for).

Thanks for the posts everyone appreciate it..

Theincidental did you give birth naturally? With my condition you can have a skin divide at the top of your vagina called a septum- this can cause issues in labour (found info online) they haven't even told me if I have this!.. I think I'm
Going to push for more answers

Re: the skin join, That's precisely what I had. There are degrees of my condition and in my case it's like there are two halves to my womb.

I had an emergency forceps delivery due to my baby's heart rate being poor in labour - I don't know if it was related to the condition or the induction, or something else. The care was great thouh. As soon as I was admitted to delivery, a midwife set up camp in my room with all her paperwork and worked from their for her shift. Any time she had to leave a consultant came in.

Please don't be alarmed though, as I may just have had a very unlucky labour and we were all ok in the end. It's a few years on now and we're both ok.

No experience or advice about your specific condition but definitely kick up a stink about your fears and not feeling supported, it's their job to support you properly and allay fears where possible and you don't sound at all reassured, hope you get some answers soon !

Hi op,
I agree with pp about insisting on more support. Make a nuisance of yourself and don't let them fob you off.

I can empathise with your situation . I have a unicornuate uterus (just one half), which was discovered when we were referred for fertility treatment. Currently 23 weeks following IVF so understand your fears - some of the stats are terrifying. Pregnancy is worrying enough without all the extra risk factors isn't it?

Care wise I am consultant led and had fortnightly cervical length checks from 14-22 weeks as an incompetent cervix can be associated with my abnormality (not sure if it's the case for you too). From 26 weeks I'll be having 4 weekly growth scans as the big risk later in pregnancy is pre-term labour as the baby runs out of room in my half a womb (I assume this could be similar for you if the two halves are totally separate) so it is important to be monitored.

I had to push to get this level of care. Several phone calls and visits to midwife, explained the condition (very few medical professionals seem to have heard of it...I've had sonographers say "unicornuate? What's that then?"), and my associated anxiety etc until she got me a consultant appointment. When I got there they tried to fob me off with one of his registrars which I flatly refused and finally got to see the lead consultant. Since then things have been better and I always see the same consultant. Still anxious of course, but feel things are at least being taken seriously.

My advice would be to contact your midwife again. Make sure you have the facts to hand and explain why you feel it's important to be more closely monitored. But also play on the anxiety/ impact on psychological well being angle. If necessary cry...it makes people uncomfortable and they usually do what you want to shut you up/ get rid of the crazy emotional woman! But most importantly don't give up. You know you need more support and you should trust your instincts.

Sorry for the long post! Wishing you all the best with your pregnancy, I will be thinking of you.

Can't believe the midwife would complain about not getting extra funding for a more complex patient. What a bizarre thing to say in ear shot of a patient. Makes me question her motives to be honest.

I work in the NHS and have a diary of 12 patients a day. Complex cases are all part of the job, it would never even occur to me to expect more finding to treat them. More time to do the admin required (mainly letter writing, referrals onto specialist services etc) would be nice, but no one I work with would expect that to be dished out on a patient complexity basis!

Weird.

Hey OP, i'm in a similar situation to you, although they couldn't tell me for sure whether it was a didelphis or bicornuate uterus as I was only diagnosed in early pregnancy when I had a lot of bleeding.
I too find the lack of information frustrating and I'm not clear whether I'm high risk or not. (Apparently these conditions used to be classed as high risk at my hospital but now they've been changed to low risk, unless you have problems).
However, I went to 39 weeks with my son and delivered vaginally (although with forceps). I did have to have the placenta removed in theatre, which apparently can sometimes happen with these conditions. So it is definitely possible to have a normal delivery and go full-term with these conditions. I hope everything goes well for you, and definitely insist on getting some more support - that's what i'm going to do too.

Hi everyone- thanks for your replies! I have a midwife appt tomorrow so I think I'm going to mention it and say I'm really concerned about birth.. I too had bleeding several times at the beginning and was just sent home twice because it was early on! I'm not asking for a weekly scan or anything just a gyno appt and some advice! It's too scary not knowing anything.. Forceps?!! The thought terrifies me but if rather that than a c-sec!!

Haha, I was dreading forceps more than a C section, just because they look so horrendous! But in reality, it wasn't too bad and isn't uncommon for women having their first baby. But hopefully you won't have to have them. Good luck with the mw app.

Thanks :) I'll let you know how they try and fob me off

I remember reading about a women who had two uteruses, cervixes and vaginas in Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin. The woman had a few successful uncomplicated pregnancies mostly in one side and one in the other side I think.

Do let us know, in your shoes you should insist on nothing less than absolute expert advice x