Woo! I just made an appointment.... update :( Happy update #11!

[StephandOwen]

with an OB/GYN Hopefully in 2 weeks (when I go) we get the go-ahead for TTC (on our honeymoon) I have some health issues that could impact a future pregnancy so I'm crossing my fingers that the risks are low enough that we get the thumbs up. One thing I've got going for me is when I had my ds I (well, we) were all (including the doctors and midwife I used) oblivious to the issues and ds turned out just fine (with a completely "perfect" pregnancy, up until the very end when I was induced for pre-e). Also cross your fingers that he doesn't have to do another u/s and can just get info from my other ones. I'm paying out of pocket for this appointment and would like to avoid an u/s if I can so I'm not paying a huge amount.

I can't believe we're seriously considering this! DS just turned 7 and we're really going to try and have another If you have any more fingers to cross (), please also cross your fingers that my ds is totally wrong on his predictions. We've been talking to him about the idea of having another baby and for months he's been insisting that there will never be 1 baby in my belly- there will be *2* babies in my belly at the same time- 1 boy and 1 girl. He says there will be 2 so that they aren't lonely in there and they'll give each other hugs and kisses until they come out and then he can give them hugs and kisses Him combined with the crazy twin dreams I've had are making me a little nervous

[AllyRae]

WOOO! Good luck Steph!

[Attached2Elijah]

Good luck Steph! Hope you get the go ahead and get your BFP quickly. Congrats to you both!

[LoveOhm]

sounds exciting!!! I'm cheering for you.

[StephandOwen]

Thank you ladies! I'm still having issues getting all my records so I don't think I'll get them all in time, which stinks. I was hoping to get the record with my last ultrasound on it (not from my pregnancy with ds but another ultrasound I had a couple years ago) so the doctor can look at that. I have a feeling without that record he's going to want to do an ultrasound before he can tell us yes or no on the TTC but I don't have insurance to cover the ultrasound. ARGH! I'll probably just tell him that the records are on their way and when I get them, I'll send them his way. If the ultrasound records don't tell him what he wants to know then we can figure out what to do about getting another ultrasound.

[StephandOwen]

I got my medical records from the ultrasound and it says I do, indeed, have a bicornuate uterus. Further, it also says they could not find my left ovary. It is inconclusive about whether I have a left ovary or whether it was just hiding really well.

After doing a little more research on this I'm a little shocked and sad. According to this site, only 0.1-0.5% of women are known to have a bicornuate uterus (though the actual number is likely higher because it's not something you would know unless it was causing trouble so women who have never had a baby likely wouldn't have any idea they have this). It says there is an estimated 55-63% fetal survival rate associated with this. It also says there is a 15-25% rate of preterm delivery. It says fetal growth retardation is also associated, but more likely the baby wouldn't survive that long or would be delivered preterm. It also mentions that often babies, especially if they aren't preterm, can't get into a proper birthing position because there's not enough room (so they won't go head down).



However, it really makes me see how much of a miracle my ds is. He was born full term (we evicted him at 39 weeks ), vaginally, AND he was big (8lb 14oz). So I know it is possible to have a healthy, full term baby. But if we try again are we playing with fire? What are the odds of having 2 healthy, full term babies?

Throw in the possibility of not having 1 of my ovaries and.... huh. Makes me really appreciate the miracle of my ds being here (ds was an "oops" the first time I ever had sex without protection).

I see my new dr tomorrow morning. Hopefully he's more optimistic about it.

[AllyRae]

I'm so sorry Steph. Hopefully you get better news tomorrow.

I know it's not the same, but with my bone marrow condition, I had a 50-60% chance of not birthing a live baby during my last pregnancy, and here Mia is today. There is a lot of monitoring that can be done if the risks are known and you are at a university-level hospital. Hopefully they can do the same for you...

[Defenestrator]

It has been my experience that second and subsequent pregnancies with a bicornuate uterus do better than the first one. It seems like the irritable contractions and the breech presentations and the preterm births seem to happen less with the later pregnancies. Perhaps the uterus gets somewhat bigger with the first pregnancy? Anyway, I have helped 4 women with bicornuate uteri have their babies, and none of them came early, though 2 of them were breech until the very last minute.

Good luck!

[Carrie Posey]

I've also know 2 people with this "issue" and they both had healthy pregnancies. They had some issues with getting the babies head down but everyone got here great.

[StephandOwen]

Thanks ladies. I emailed my mom (a nurse.... I go to her for anything medical. LOL!) and she said that the best predictor for future outcomes is to look at past outcomes. Since my pregnancy with ds was free of any complications (that would have been related to the uterus) then there's a good chance that can happen again. She admits there's probably higher risks for me than the general population, but not *that* much bigger since I did have my ds.

Originally Posted by AllyRae

There is a lot of monitoring that can be done if the risks are known and you are at a university-level hospital. Hopefully they can do the same for you...

It's a good thing we live here versus where we lived in Michigan! LOL! We have lots of major hospitals within 15 minutes of our house (one being the University of Kentucky hospital). The dr I am seeing tomorrow is not associated with UK, but they are part of another major hospital here (they are actually right at the hospital).

Originally Posted by Defenestrator

It has been my experience that second and subsequent pregnancies with a bicornuate uterus do better than the first one.

Great to hear, thanks! My ds was head-down for as long as I remember (he was head down at 20 weeks during my ultrasound and, although he moved a LOT, I don't think he got out of the head down position. He spun around and around though, kicking my ribs to get leverage to get spinning around in circles on his head. Funny enough, he still loves to spin ).

[StephandOwen]

UPDATE- I saw the OBGYN today and I am very happy with him! He was a very positive, straight-forward guy. He said that if I get pregnant and have a miscarriage then he'll probably want to do an x-ray to check and see if there is a wall (if there is it can be surgically removed- the problem with the wall is that if a fetus implants on the wall it will be miscarried every time. But there's no proof that I have a wall). But he basically doesn't want to do anything unless it proves to be problematic. He said the fact I have my ds is proof enough that it *does* work and I *can* have a healthy, full term baby. He also said often times he sees women who come in and say they were told they have a bicornuate uterus.... but they aren't told how severe it is (like I have no clue how severe mine is). He said if it's just a small dip at the top, it's generally not a problem at all. If it's deeper and has a wall then it might be more problematic. But, again, the fact I carried my son as long as I did makes him think I probably have more of a small dip and not a deep one.

His advice was "go for it, have fun and don't stress yourselves". LOL!

And to sweeten the deal even more..... he didn't even charge me He knew I was paying out of pocket, I had to wait for a little while for my appointment (he had a c-section he had to do so was late getting back to the office) and he said he didn't even really do anything (just talked to me), so he wasn't going to charge anything. He said that since I'll have insurance in January then it was fine to wait and do a PAP until then

[ASusan]

Yay! great about the OB; he seems to have a good approach - both on his philosophy about how things could go, given your history AND on his billing!

And, I know 2 women with a bicornate uterus. One has 2 children, both vaginal deliveries (no miscarriages). The other has 2 children and is 20+ weeks into the third pregnancy; she has had 2 c-sections, and I'm sure the third will be a section.