Pregnancy Successes!

From carrying twins in one horn of a complete BU to having two children despite lacking a cervix, we have success stories in the archives for every kind of uterus.

Unicornuate

"At around 18 weeks, I began having some spotting and strange cramping that went across the left side of my pelvis and toward my thigh. The monitor actually showed uterine irritability which stopped after a shot of terbutaline. At that point, I was put on bed rest and various meds (over the next months, I was given: brethine, nifedipine, indocin, betamethasone steroids, and several high doses of mag sulfate.)
By 24 weeks, I was having pretty frequent contractions (which are hard to feel early in pregnancy, but I think particularly hard to feel with a UU. Only half of your stomach gets hard and it feels very much like the baby's movements.) My contractions would start very easily, even when I was talking on the phone for extended periods of time. By 26 weeks, we raced into the hospital with contractions that were 2 minutes apart. This became our routine for the next several months. It got to the point where all I had to do was call and tell the L&D nurses my name, and they would ask "How close are they?" I was fortunate that my cervix was pretty stubborn and I did not actually start to dilate until I was 31 weeks. They also did FFN testing which always came back negative.
All in all, I spent 18 weeks on bed rest. During that time, I made countless trips to L&D and was admitted several times. It was difficult, but paid off. DS was not born until 36 weeks...I even had a vaginal delivery. They used the vacuum (UU couldn't really push very well) and needed pitocin b/c contractions basically got "stuck." Otherwise, delivery was very easy. He was 6 lbs 7 ounces and other than jaundice and reflux, his health was perfect. I'm still in awe when I look at him!"

Uterus didelphys

When I was 15 I was diagnosed with UD. The doctors removed the v septum but left everything else alone; seeing as there really is nothing one can do to 'fix' UD. I was told then that I would probably never be able to have children. Which of course totally devastated me.

I could bore you with the details of my life story but to cut a long story short my third IVF cycle eventuated in a successful pregnancy (I was 38 at the time). The doctors warned me that the baby could come early due to 'lack of room' etc and I was put on limited activity at 30 weeks.

My baby boy was born via csection at 41 weeks pregnancy! I went to bed that night; my waters broke at 10.30 pm and he was born at 12.40 am weighing 8 pounds and 51 cm long. I wish now I had faith in my body to give birth naturally as my labour was very quick and the doctor said afterwards that the baby was already 'engaged' in the birth canal. Which one could tell immediately by looking at Jake as he had a bruise around his head from the cervix! Anyhow I did not want to risk a dangerous labour hence went the csection route.

So there in a nutshell is a UD success story! My darling boy will be 4 on July 27. I still marvel that he is actually here!!

Bicornuate

"I have a bicornuate uterus with a septum and 2 cervices. So the joke was that the baby could pick the exit when the time came. But that never happened because my daughter was, of course, breech presentation."
The beginning of the pregnancy was really bumpy; first they thought I was a tubal because I was having a lot of pain and just had my first positive prego test. After many ultrasounds in the ER, they saw no evidence of a tubal, but instead saw fluid (probably from a ruptured ovarian cyst) and the smallest of gestational sacs...with no fetal pole. So I was sent home and told to wait...and to see an OB/GYN which I did. I did not know that I had a bicornuate uterus until I got pregnant.
I had bleeding (nothing major but definitely not normal) for the first 20 weeks of my pregnancy along with intermittent cramping. I had a lot of ultrasounds, including 2 level 2 ultrasounds, to make sure she was growing normally (and she was even BIG, 8 pounds, 12 ounces at birth, which shocked everyone). She lived on my right side throughout most of the pregnancy, practically in my rib cage. We knew about the bicornuate uterus, but did not know about the septum until they were performing my c-section...at 38 weeks!!!
In the end I was so fortunate to have carried such a beautiful daughter to term, fully knowing that things very well may not have gone so well...and all the problems that might happen in the meantime."

Septate

"Inaccurately dx by HSG in 1995 (I think?) with BU. In 2001, got pregnant twice, miscarried at 12 and then 8 weeks. Finally correctly dx with SU bicollis. Found the MA group (my lifesaver!) and decided the lap/hyst to resect the septum was the choice for me. Had one surgery in January, 2002.
It was very successful, and I am left with a slight residual septum, making me somewhat BU — still have 2 cervices and vaginal septum (and one kidney). Post surgery had long, wacky cycles. Got pregnant on day 34 ovulation in July, 2002. Great pregnancy (although paranoid) and I was able to keep active throughout. No bed rest, no preterm labour. My son was breech from the start, and didn't turn despite lots of mellow encouragement (didn't even attempt a version). Went into labour at 39 weeks, and he was born by c-section.
And hopefully I will have a second success story to share in November, as I am currently 6 weeks pregnant and saw the HB today (despite a few days of spotting last week). Still nursing my almost 2 year-old son (who needs to be weaned otherwise he will BF until he is a teenager)."

Septate

"After 4 miscarriages, including one involving incompetent cervix, I was diagnosed as having a complete SU in 2000. A resection was partially successful, although the surgeon perforated my uterus high up on the fundus. Had a second resection 6 months later, leaving me with segments of the septum intact, but a window between the two horns.
I miscarried once more and then conceived my DS. had a cerclage at 11 weeks and had some slight trouble with bleeding and contractions during the pregnancy. I was worried about possible rupture, so we planned on a c-section at 37 weeks, before prodromal labor got vigorous. All in all, I spent 23 weeks on modified bed rest and had a lot of cervical monitoring. The cervix held up splendidly, although my uterus was irritable. I took terbutaline for that up until about 21 or 22 weeks, and in retrospect, I would have taken far less of it.
The septum resurrected itself during the early part of the pregnancy, and I was worried about that, but by 20 weeks, the fetus had squashed it back into the uterine walls. He was still able to flip from vertex to transverse and back again at 36 weeks, and was born by planned c-section at 37 weeks on the dot, weighing 7 lbs., 3 oz., and in perfect health."