Most parents think their child is one in a million, but in this case in Israel, it was absolutely accurate. Elle Ladovich, who was born with two uteruses – one divided completely into two, each with its own cervix – has given birth to healthy twins, each of which developed in its own uterus. The twins didn’t meet each other until they were born.
Called uterus didelphys, the malformation where the uterus occurs when a female fetus is herself developing in her mother’s womb. Organs develop when a baby is between six and 22 weeks of pregnancy, In normal development, the paired organ develops from fusion of the Müllerian ducts – the embryonic structure that develops into the female reproductive tract including the oviduct, uterus, cervix and upper vagina. These channels join together and make one hollow organ called the uterus. In uterine didelphys, the channels don’t properly join together. Each tube can turn into a uterus, causing the woman to develop two. The exact cause is unknown.
Women with the condition may be asymptomatic and unaware of having a double uterus, but others can have problems including discomfort and pain. Premature delivery occurs in one fifth of pregnancies and breech presentation (feet or bottom first) occurred in 43% of women with uterus didelphys.
It is rare for a patient with a double uterus to go through surgery to unite the uterus, but surgery may help a patient sustain a pregnancy if she has a partial division within her uterus and no other medical explanation for it.
Uterus didelphys has in certain clinical studies been found associated with higher rate of infertility, miscarriage, intrauterine growth retardation and postpartum bleeding.
A number of twin gestations have occurred where each uterus carried its pregnancy separately. There have only been about 100 cases worldwide of a woman with a double uterus being pregnant in both wombs at the same time.
Ladovich was supervised at the hospital by Prof. Liran Hirsch, who also serves as the director of the high-risk pregnancy department. Due to the complexity of the case, very intensive follow-up was needed. Finally, at her 35th week of pregnancy, she underwent a successful caesarean section.
“At the age of 20, long before the pregnancy, I was told I had two uteruses, and all those years I was afraid the baby would be in the right uterus, which is smaller,” said Elle. “ On the first examination of the pregnancy, the doctor almost fainted and it took him 10 minutes to tell me that I had twins, a fetus each uterus. From the moment I got to Prof. Hirsch I knew I was in good hands and continued the pregnancy until birth. The twins, a son and a daughter, are sweet and stunning and I’m sure that although they have just met, they will be best friends.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
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