Bicornuate Uterus...and twins?

redheadinlove

So, we went in for our 8 week appointment yesterday and had another ultrasound. We saw two circles almost immediately. My doctor says that the line between the two circles (what we assumed to be gestational sacs) was too think in her experience to be sac membranes. She believes it may be a true uterine wall. She thinks I might have a bicornuate uterus, split uterus. She was also able to see two heartbeats, but she isn't sure if the second one was just a mirror of the first one or a real one, as she wasn't able to see them at the same time. 

 

So my doctor gave me a great big might be, might not be.

I might have twins, I might not.

I might have a split uterus, I might not.

I might lose my baby/babies, I might not.

We know nothing for sure. We go in for a better ultrasound at the beginning of November and she'll see us again a few days later.

We're terrified. The one thing we can cling onto, is that whatever the risks are, two babies, one baby, one uterus, two uteri, baby in both, baby in one, the baby or babies are PERFECT and HEALTHY. They measured exactly on target and the heartbeats were 173 and 179.

We've told my parents and a friend, but we aren't telling everyone the whole story because there's just too many maybes and no real answers except that our baby/babies are so healthy right now.

My doctor says to just take it easy, I had to quit my job at the renaissance festival. I'm on antibiotics for a cold turned infection. I'm just praying for increments at a time, right now, lets make it to 12 weeks and the next ultrasound.

Does anyone have similar stories? Any experience with the split uterus? Or twins in each horn? I don't want to google things, I know the risk rate is too high. Too much horror to be found via google. I just want to hear some personal stories.

Sorry this was so long, other than my fiance, I have no one to talk to about this and it just makes him fall apart. 

CC.to.be

Wow that is so crazy. GL with everything and keep us posted. I worked with a girl that has two uteri. Her mom has the same thing. Her mom has two children both girls (not twins) and had to deliver early via c-section because there wasn't as much room for the babies as a single uterus. I don't know if that is true with every case but with her it was. Again, GL I know it must be scary not knowing what is going on with your body.

ufsandra85

I had 2 babies each on one side of my uterus. I had a septate uterus and was misdiagnosed with 2 uteri. I strongly suggest that you see an re and figure out what you truly have because that makes a big difference on the level of care you should obtain. If you have a septum they may need to do weekly us. Good luck and if youhave any questions pm me. I highly regret not seeing an re earlier. There is also a great yahoo group for ladies with mullerian amomilies

OO cupcakes OO

Geez that's a lot of maybes... I can't believe they're leaving you hanging like that.  With so many uncertainties I would think they would want to do a more extensive u/s and find out exactly what's going on in there.

At least the baby/babies look healthy.  I hope the time passes quickly for you so you can figure out what's going on. 

EMOmamma

There was a national news story about this about a month ago. Both babies were born healthy via c-section. Good luck. I hope you get answers soon.

jmgcoggins

My SIL has a bicornuate uterus, and carried my nephew to 34 weeks. He is a happy, healthy little boy.

I'm not going to sugar coat it though. She was on bedrest for 4 months, 2 of those months she was in the hospital. But he was big for his GA, so while he did go to the nicu, he went home with them when they were discharged.

She did have a c-section, but that was only because he was breech.

Just take it one day at a time. T&P to you! 

shmoos

At my first appointment/ultrasound at 6 weeks and a few days, my OB saw something that she suspected could be either a septum or a heart shaped uterus.  She referred me to a specialist, who I saw a week or two later, for a 3D ultrasound. 

Can you request that you be referred to a specialist for a more detailed ultrasound?

I am happy to share with you the information that I received from my doctors, as I thought they did a great job of explaining things in ways that I understood.   If you have a septate uterus, there is an increased chance of miscarriage in the first trimester, because the placenta may not have sufficient bloodflow.  However, that is completely dependent on how complete the septum is, and if it has bloodflow of its own.  So it is possible to have a viable pregnancy with a septate uterus.  It is also possible to correct the septum by surgery when you are not pregnant.

If you have a bicornate or heart shaped uterus, once again, it will simply depend on how severe it is.  My doctor has several patients with this diagnosis, and all of them have had healthy pregnancies.  She said for her patients, the most common complication is that the baby will be breach, and thus a c section may be necessary. 

I do not have any experience with twin pregnancies, so I cannot speak to that.  However I know I was scared when my doctor told me there may be complications, and I wanted to let you know  that such a diagnosis is not always a horror story. 

amykins1283

My mom had a bicornuate uterus (she had a complete hysterectomy in 1997) and was able to carry me to term.

BUT, this was after two miscarriages and one later term loss.  She is not sure if it was because of the condition of her uterus or something else, though, because she also had some difficulty even getting pregnant.  

One issue you may run into is pre-term labor (due to the limited room for growth).  My mom went into spontaneous labor with me at 5 months.  They were able to stop it with drugs and she had to be on strict bedrest for the remainder of her pregnancy and take labor stopping drugs the whole time but she made it to term and had me at 39 weeks by scheduled C-section.  I was also normal sized (7 lbs 6 oz) so there was no intrauterine growth restriction which is something else that can also happen with a bicornuate uterus depending on the size of the horns.  In my mom's case one side was significantly larger than the other so she believes that her previous late term loss was due to the baby being implanted in the smaller horn. 

But, in the end, my mom had a successful singleton pregnancy.  I am not sure what twins mean with this condition but I would keep thinking positive thoughts. You have two healthy babies in there and that is something to be grateful for. 

 

ufsandra85

shmoos:

If you have a septate uterus, there is an increased chance of miscarriage in the first trimester, because the placenta may not have sufficient bloodflow. 

 

There is an increased risk the entire pregnancy because the baby can run out of room to grow. I SERIOUSLY urge you to go to an RE and get a proper diagnosis because dealing with a bicornate and a septum may be completely different. If you have a septum the fiborous vs muscular nature of your septum can make a big difference on the outcome.  https://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/MullerianAnomalies/ this is that group i was talking about in the earlier post. I think there are a bunch of women who have the same or similar thing to have we have. There is also a list of doctors that have dealt with many MA patients. When i was pregnant with my twins I had to see a special OB. I just cant stress enough the importance of seeing a specialist and not a regular OB

shmoos

To clarify, I have been to a specialist.  And yes, I totally agree with you that the nature of the septum will make a difference in your prognosis, I thought I mentioned that in my orignial post, but I probably was thinking faster than I was typing. 

 Fortunately for myself, the deformity is very minimal and my doctors are not overly concerned at this point. 

I did not explain my former statement very well, but what I was told, was that if the septum was severe enough to cause problems, that I would miscarry in the first trimester, and thus there would not be any issue of growth.   Once again, my specialist found there was optimal blood flow and that the septum was minimal, and did not completely divide the uterus. 

Sorry, I hope this does not come across as overly defensive!  I was just trying to share a non-horror story because I know how difficult it is wait for answers.