Firstly, I would like to thank everyone that read my first blog.
All the messages of support have been really encouraging and I have even had messages from around 10 different women from several countries who have Uterus Didelphys, who have either recently had a baby, or who are currently pregnant too. Its been so interesting learning about their experiences and they’ve been able to give me some insight of what possibly to expect going forward.
So again, thank you for reading!
From 10 weeks pregnant:
At 10 weeks, my morning sickness started… it was so bad when we went for our 12 week scan I couldn’t properly enjoy watching the baby on the scan – as soon as I knew everything was okay, I just wanted to go home and sleep!
After the scan I saw my consultants team for the first time. I was seen by a lovely Doctor and a few trainees who came to observe!
Due to the Factor V Leiden blood clotting condition, they started me on Clexane injections as a preventative precaution. I have to inject once daily until the baby is born and potentially for a short time after delivery depending on how the little one makes their entrance!
The Doctor explained that due to the Uterus Didelphys I would need closley monitoring during the 3rd trimester, this is due to the fact that the womb the baby is in is half the size of a normal womb, so there is a chance that my womb might not stretch as much as a full sized womb would. This could bring about difficulties as the baby grows bigger towards the end of pregnancy; such as the baby running out of space to move around, potentially ending up with the baby being stuck in the breach position, or possibly triggering preterm labour.
I was told to also expect a higher amount of ‘false labour’ contractions and also to be prepared that I could naturally go into labour any time from around 34 weeks.
It was a lot of information to take in, but I was booked in for growth scans every 4 weeks, starting at 28 weeks so they can monitor how much space the baby has and to determine if a c-section delivery will be best.
I was also told that if at any point I notice the baby moving less or the pattern of movement changing at all then to attend the assessment centre at the hospital.
I have to say this appointment put my mind at ease a lot and made me feel a lot more positive about the pregnancy as a whole.
Baby Uzzell at 12 weeks 2 days.
At 15 weeks I felt the first tiny little kicks. I wasn’t 100% sure until the kicks started to get stronger, but at around 18 weeks the kicks were visible and unmistakable! Our little one even had their own movement pattern from around 18 weeks, including wriggling and sticking out, making for a very uneven bump on occasions….
Bump pictured at 19 weeks.
(Disclaimer: bruises are from the Clexane injections).
I also began to experience sciatic nerve pain – only on the left hand side – caused by the baby pressing down on the nerve. It can get incredibly painful and a few times caused me to be unable to walk until the baby moved off of the nerve!
Although I was nervous for our 20 week scan, everything was measuring perfectly and it was great to see that our little one still had plenty of room to be wriggling and bouncing around – the ultrasound tech also informed me that I have a posterior facing placenta, so this is why I felt the movement quite early on and the kicks were visible so early!
20 week scan below.
Bump at 22 weeks.
At 24 weeks, I had a day where I only felt the odd kick and a definite lack in normal movements throughout the day – I went up to the assessment centre to get everything checked out. My main worry was about the baby running out of space and this causing a lack in movement… the midwife listened to the babies heartbeat and confirmed everything was okay but reassurred me to come back at any time if the same happens again.
As soon as I got home, baby was back to moving around as much as normal and since then their movement pattern has remained the same.
I feel really lucky that so far everything has gone so smoothly, I have to admit that heading into my third trimester the nerves are starting to creep in again, but I think I will feel reassurred once I see my consultant again at my first growth scan in 2 weeks.
From speaking with other women with UD, I’m very aware of the real citcumstances that could occur going forward, many deliveries end up being a scheduled c-section any time from 37 weeks, but I have also spoken to women who have managed to deliver naturally – I don’t particularly prefer either option at the moment, just whatever will be safest for the baby and for me. Hopefully this will be clearer in the coming weeks.
Thank you again for taking the time to read this blog.
Katie
x
Completely Katie 