Bicornuate Uterus

I thought I would put a post up about this in case anyone diagnosed with this would stumble across my blog. I had a hard time finding information of women that were diagnosed with this so hopefully this might help someone. Sorry if this post is TMI for anyone :)

When I was about 9 weeks preggers with my son my doctor had me go in for an ultra sound to confirm the due date since my last period wasn't regular. The ultra sound tech asked me if I had 2 cervices, my response was "ummmm....I don't think so, is that even possible?". The tech blew it off like it was no big deal (probably to keep a new mama from worrying) and so I was surprised when I received a phone call the next day from the Doc. office. They wanted me to go see a specialist so see what was actually going on in there. I asked if the baby was going to be alright and she said 'there's a possibility the baby won't make it'. Scared me to death!

Through some testing they determined that I had a Bicornuate Uterus (divided uterus or heart shaped uterus). Apparently its a birth defect and kidney issues usually go along with it, I was fortunate to not have that problem. The baby was in the left horn and they weren't sure if the baby would make to full term or make it at all. They pretty much guaranteed me that I would have to have a c-section if he did. I would have to be carefully monitored. I had ultra sounds every two weeks for eight months to check growth and cervix. Most of them were internal ultra sounds :( (I really don't think its possible to keep your modesty when your pregnant. I lost count of how many different people saw me naked, by the end I just didn't care anymore :P) It was a really scary that first and second trimester. They doc said that with this condition, the further along in pregnancy the more dangerous it is for the baby. He is a very smart baby and made good use of his very little space.

I felt great throughout my pregnancy until the very end. I had severe back pain due to all the weight on one side and at around 7 months preggers you could tell I was lop sided ;P It was really obvious when I was 9 months along. I really regret not taking any bare belly shots to document the lopsidedness of my belly.

Luckily, my cervix held strong and Connor was able to grow to full-term without any complications. I was no longer considered high risk at about 8 months. In fact I had a normal delivery and he weighed over 7lbs!! Pretty impressive considering he only had half a uterus to grow in.

We do plan to try to have another in a few years and have been told that the next pregnancy should easier since once you have a baby your uterus stretches much easier. They do want me to have a dye test just to have a more accurate picture to ensure that they didn't miss anything. Connor's future sibling(s) owe him big for doing all the work of creating more room to grow :)

He is one cool guy!