how long it was before you could concieve with a bicornuate uterus?
what i have to do regarding with my uterus? surgey?- i only know of having surgrey for septum.. but what would they do to the uterus?
i am scared a little and i really do want have children soon as possible as seeing i have been trying for a year or so now with my fiance.
Answers:
A bicornuate uterus should not cause infertility, but is associated with increased risks for miscarriage as well as preterm birth.
There are quite a few different kinds of problems of the uterus:
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/complications/auterusabnormal/
A bicornuate uterus (a womb with two 'horns') is the most common. Instead of the womb being pear-shaped, it is shaped like a heart, with a deep indentation at the top. This means that the baby has less space to grow than in a normally shaped womb.
A unicornuate uterus (a womb with one 'horn') happens when the tissue that forms the womb does not develop properly. This is a very rare condition. A unicornuate uterus is just half the size of a normal womb and the woman has only one fallopian tube. However, she usually has two ovaries.
A double uterus, technically called a "uterus didelphys", is when the uterus has two inner cavities. Each cavity may lead to its own cervix and vagina, so the woman has two cervixes and two vaginas. Again, this is very rare.
A septate uterus is where the inside of the uterus is divided by a wall (septum). The septum may extend only part way into the uterus or it may reach as far as the cervix.
Normally, the uterus leans forwards over the top of the bladder. Doctors call this position "anteverted" and "anteflexed". Some women have a tilted uterus (which may also be described as "backward", "retroflexed", "retroverted" or "tipped") which leans away from the bladder rather than over it.
What effect do uterine abnormalities have?
On fertility A tilted uterus does not make a woman less fertile, and a woman with a uterine septum only occasionally has infertility problems. Women with a unicornuate uterus may have difficulties conceiving, because they have only one fallopian tube. However, pregnancy in women with this condition is far from unknown. In general, uterine abnormalities do not prevent a woman from getting pregnant, but they may make it more difficult for her to carry a baby for the full nine months of pregnancy.
On miscarriage The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says that it's hard to tell whether there is a link between uterine abnormalities and miscarriage. However, a review of research into pregnancy outcomes of women with abnormal uteri found that miscarriage is higher in women with an abnormality than in women with normal uteri, but the rates vary according to the type of abnormality -- for example, women with a septate uterus are at a greater risk of miscarriage than women with other abnormalities.
On pregnancy Women with uterine abnormalities, particularly unicornate uterus, are more likely to have complications during pregnancy or delivery, whether the baby was conceived spontaneously or by Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), compared with women with normal shaped uteri.
If the uterus is an unusual shape, many babies will settle into the breech position rather than into the normal head-down position. If you are expecting a breech baby you will be offered a caesarean because this is currently considered the safest way for the baby to be born.
If you have a unicornuate or bicornuate uterus you may go into premature labour because there comes a point where there simply isn't enough room for the baby to grow any more, and over-stretching of the womb triggers labour. Alternatively, the cervix (neck) of an abnormally shaped womb may not be strong enough to keep the baby inside and it opens too early and lets the baby out. This is called a weak cervix, sometimes called an "incompetent cervix" and it tends to be a problem for women with an abnormally shaped uterus who are expecting their first baby. The more pregnancies you have, the less of a problem it tends to be.
How will this affect me when I am pregnant?
If you know that you have an abnormally shaped uterus, you may feel very anxious during your pregnancy, especially if you have had previous miscarriages. Go to all your clinic appointments because your midwife and obstetrician will want to keep a very close eye on you. Try to stay as relaxed as possible and keep busy to distract yourself. If you need someone to talk to, contact an organisation such as the National Childbirth Trust and ask if there is someone with a similar history whom you can talk to.
Ask your midwife to explain clearly to you the signs of premature labour, so that if your baby starts coming too soon, you will know what is happening and can get to hospital quickly. Choose some good antenatal classes where you can talk about your worries, and learn about what happens if a baby is in the breech position or is born prematurely.
If at any time you feel that something is wrong, contact your midwife immediately. Don't worry about raising a 'false alarm'. Your midwife will be only too pleased to check you over and reassure you.
Reviewed February 2005.
http://www.infertilitytutorials.com/miscarriage_members/case_cause_anatomic.cfm#bicornuate
A bicornuate uterus is not always associated with recurrent pregnancy loss, so repair is often delayed until a problem presents.
Some prominent reproductive endocrinologists recommend repair of a bicornuate uterus whenever it is identified and fertility is desired. The rationale for this recommendation is that these anomalies are associated with an increased risk for pregnancy wastage (although many women with a bicornuate uterus deliver at term without a history of pregnancy loss) and malpresentation of the fetus during labor (breech or transverse lie of the fetus increases the need to consider Cesarean delivery).
In the situation described here, it appears that the recurrent losses may be due to the bicornuate uterus. It is also possible that the losses suffered by this couple are due to problems that are (currently) poorly understood (such as genetic or immunologic problems, where some of the testing available is still of unclear clinical value or “experimental”). My recommendation to this couple would be to consider the risks and benefits of the reconstruction procedure and the experimental treatments for immunologic causes of pregnancy loss. I generally would suggest the surgery over experimental treatments for immunological abnormalities because its benefit has been more clearly demonstrated in the available literature.
Bicornuate Uterus:
A congenital malformation of the uterus where the upper portion (horn) is duplicated. http://www.ivf.com/gloss.html
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