At age 40 I suffered chronic and very severe abdominal pain. I was sent to have a barium enema abdominal xray, that was followed by a colonoscopy and endoscopy. It was eventually diagnosed as Irritable Bowel Syndrome and I was prescribed various drug treatments which I made sure I took faithfully. After a few weeks the abdominal distention and pain went away. I spent Xmas in NZ with my parents as I was residing in Brisbane. This would have been approx 4 weeks after the above procedures. I returned to Australia after 4 weeks. It was probably 2-3 weeks later that I noticed the abdominal distention returning, but not accompanied by any of the previous problems. I did however notice that my clothes were a bit tighter to wear. On a whim I purchased a pregnancy test kit and that confirmed that I was pregnant. This was a surprise as I rarely had periods, sometimes up to a year between them. I had not been using birth control. On visiting my doctor I was in shock to discover that I was 20 weeks pregnant. Panic then set in as the medical procedures I had gone through put my baby at risk, so had the variety of drugs prescribed. An ultrasound put my mind at ease as it confirmed there were no physical abnormalities. It was put to me that I could cease this pregnancy if I was concerned as to any mental defects that may exist in the baby. I could not do that and chose to go on and wait for the birth and deal with any outcomes after that.
My pregnancy continued with nil complications until at 35 weeks my doctor was concerned that my baby boy was in the breech position, another scan confirmed this. She couldnt understand why he had so little amniotic fluid surrounding him, he was long but not of a heavy weight at all. He was, in fact, in a transverse breech position and they were concerned that he had no room to move and did not want to attempt turning him. Suffice to say I was booked in for a C-section at 38 weeks and was told on no uncertain terms to hang around if I went into early labour. I was to get to hospital quickly.
The due date arrived, into theatre I went, and the C-section was underway. After a few minutes the surgeon pushed down the blue sheet, popped his head over and said.... We know why your baby is breech, you have a bicornuate uterus and he is in your left side.
Suffice to say I had a perfectly healthy baby boy, thank goodness I made the right choice earlier. I believe he was a gift, one who hid away quietly, even from those who performed the earlier procedures, wasnt affected by medical procedures and the drugs, one who gave this advanced aged first time Mum the best pregnancy one could wish for. Unfortunately I had a serious post partum hemorrhage 3 weeks after his birth and ended up back in hospital on a drip and an emergency D & C. They expained this as being due to my right side getting back to normal and in need of a clean out.
That was 11 years ago tomorrow. I am now nearly 52 and well into menopause.
As with Shays experience above you may find that medical staff will see it as some sort of enigma and even say how lucky you are. I had them saying the same thing but they also did say that I had been very lucky to even have had my son. A lot dont make it to term., most miscarry. They even said that it could cause malformations. Your doctor must keep a more regular check on you and your baby as you approach those last few weeks.
You shouldnt worry about being bicornuate, it is no more uncomfortable to carry on one side as it would be carrying normally. Enjoy every minute of your pregnancy even though you may be highly likely to have to have a C-section and your baby will come into your lives a little earlier than first expected. Dont set your heart on having a vaginal delivery.
