'I have two uteruses and carried a baby in each womb'

A mum who experienced periods so heavy she had to wear adult nappies discovered she has two uteruses, cervixes and vaginas - and carried a baby in each of her wombs.

Shannon Webster, 28, a medical secretary from Basingstoke, Hampshire had struggled with heavy bleeding since she started her period aged 14.

She was put on the pill to try to ease her symptoms but still experienced faintness and had to wear three pads at once, before eventually resorting to wearing adult nappies.

When Webster became sexually active she found sex painful, but doctors told her she was just "small" and it was "normal".

She also fell pregnant and gave birth to her son, now 10, two weeks early via c-section, but doctors still didn't spot anything unusual.

It was only after she experienced a miscarriage that the sonographer spotted Webster had two uteruses - a condition known as uterus didelphys.

Then, during a speculum examination during her pregnancy with her youngest son, now seven, she was told she also had two cervixes and two vaginas.

Doctors worked out her first son had been carried in her left womb - as it was stretched - and saw her youngest in her right on the ultrasound.

After giving birth to her youngest son Webster was able to have surgery to remove the septum between her two vaginas.

She has also discovered a pill that helps ease the heavy bleeding she experiences during her period.

Webster says she had always struggled with bad periods.

"I almost fainted sometimes and was leaking through constantly.

"And the pain was unbearable."

Recalling the impact of her periods growing up, she says: "I couldn't use tampons. I tried to use them but it caused me so much pain.

"Doctors just said I was really tiny.

"I'd have training pads for dogs on my bed. I had three pads in my pants, but I'd wake up covered in the morning.

"I even tried adult pull ups."

Webster was put on the pill which did help regulate her periods but she found sex painful when she became sexually active at 16.

In July 2013 she was thrilled to discover she was expecting a baby and her pregnancy went smoothly until 28 weeks when doctors discovered her unborn baby was breech and struggling with blood flow.

Webster had to have scans regularly to monitor him until he was born via c-section in March 2014.

Having fallen pregnant again in 2016, Webster started bleeding and went for an ultrasound to check on the baby.

"I'd had a miscarriage," she explains. "But then the sonographer said 'oh, you are a different one aren't you'."

Webster was confused until the sonographer explained that she had two wombs.

"She it was very rare," Webster explains. "I was like I have no idea what you are talking about, but she was shocked I didn't know."

Webster was sent for an MRI scan which revealed she had two separate wombs and she was diagnosed with uterus didelphys in May 2016.

Doctors wanted to do further investigations but when she fell pregnant again in December 2016 it made it difficult for them to carry out further tests.

"But they detected he was in my other womb," Webster continues.

"I have had one baby in each womb."

Webster says she experience a lot of pain during her second pregnancy as her right womb is smaller.

At a speculum examination while she was expecting the nurse also discovered she had two vaginas and two cervixes.

She was told she would be able to have an operation to remove the septum joining her vaginas after she gave birth.

And, four months after welcoming her son, in August 2017 also via c-section, Webster had the operation to join her two vaginas.

"They did keyhole surgery to go through my belly button and my vagina."

While her symptoms did improve, Webster was still experiencing heavy periods and doctors believed she was bleeding at the same time from both wombs.

"I was crippled in pain," she explains. "Sometimes to the point that I couldn't look after my children."

Thankfully, in 2019, Webster found a contraception that eased her periods.

"I found a pill that worked for my body," she says.

But she still struggles with experiencing UTIs and infections due to her condition and has recently been referred for further investigations.

Webster says she is telling her story to help raise awareness of uterus didelphys.

"There are so many different types," she adds.

"I was so oblivious."

What is uterus didelphys?

Uterus didelphys is a rare condition which is thought to affect around one in every 3,000 women.

"The term describes a condition where a woman has a double uterus, double cervix and in some cases even two vaginas," Dr Simran Deo at UK-based online doctor, Zava UK, previously told Yahoo UK.

“Uterus didelphys occurs in the womb, and leaves a female foetus with two tubes, which normally fuse together to form a singular uterus. Women with uterus didelphys often don’t have any symptoms, which can make diagnosis tricky."

Dr Deo says the condition is often only discovered during a pelvic examination, or during tests to investigate repeated miscarriages.

“Women who find that using a tampon doesn’t prevent blood flow during their period should speak to their doctor, as this may happen when menstrual blood is coming from a second vagina," she advises.

"It is also known to be more common in women born with only one kidney, which may lead to testing for uterus didelphys."

While some women can conceive and have children without complication, it may be harder for a woman with uterus didelphys to become pregnant.

"The condition is considered to make women affected by high-risk pregnancy, as it is often associated with late miscarriage and also stillbirths," Dr Deo continues.

"If you are diagnosed with uterus didelphys and are planning for a baby you should discuss your options with your doctor before trying to conceive.

"Many women suffering with this condition can go on to have healthy babies, it may just take a little more planning and precaution."

Additional reporting SWNS.

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