Back To Blogging .. My Pregnancy Story

hertymakeup Haziran 25, 2022

So I'm back in the game.. Sorry all, that I've been away for so long! I think my last real post was around the 4th of July .. sheesh!

Well the news is.. The reason why I've taken such a long break is because my husband and I recently had our first baby! It was a long hard pregnancy,delivery, and recovery. I hope you don't mind me sharing my story.. On August 16th, we welcomed our miracle baby Francesca Isabelle Cistulli into the world. She weighed 7 lbs. 1oz. She is now almost 6 months old. (I may jump around a lot in my ramblings, sorry thats how my brain works)

When I found out we were expecting, we were ecstatic! We had been trying for about 5 months. I was very sick right away.. morning sickness? No, it was 24 hours a day feeling like shit vomiting sickness! Horrible.. The Dr. put me on Zofran which seemed to help make the nausea more bearable. Of course I still threw up on a daily basis, almost right up until the end of my pregnancy. Things seemed to progressing smoothly, until the 4th of July. Thats when I noticed I was having what felt like some pretty strong menstrual cramping. I went to my normal scheduled appointment with my Dr. and I told her of my cramping. She hooked me up to the monitor, and sure enough.. I was having contractions 2 minutes apart! Needless to say, she put my ass in a wheel chair and rushed me over to the L and D unit. That 4th of July weekend I was in the hospital hooked up to a Mag IV drip to stop the baby from coming.. Thats when the real fun began (enter sarcasm here). For the next 2 weeks I was in and out of the hospital getting shots to slow the contractions. Horrible.. I was also put on meds and strict bed rest. For the next month I was in so much pain, laying in bed.. waiting for her to arrive. Thankfully I have an amazing husband who is a nurse. He did everything, he really took care of me <3
When my water broke on August 16th at 6:30 am, my labor was pretty fast.. and not too painful. I think because I had gotten so used to the pain of the contractions that past month. The actual delivery was tough. She was stuck face up in my birth canal, and when I started to run a fever, and her heart rate went up they needed to do an emergency C section. (here's where things get interesting)
As I was lying awake with my stomach open on the operating table with my rosary in one hand and my husband's hand in the other. We could hear the Doctors talking. They were calling out my anatomy parts, but the Dr. on my left kept saying.. "I don't have an ovary over here, no tube over here, missing the uterus on this side." What?!! I couldn't believe what I was hearing? They kept looking.. and sure enough while the Doctors were discussing my missing left organs they confirmed that I had what was called a Unicornate uterus. Of course in the middle of all of this, the nurse started crying and told me we had a miracle baby, then left the room to tell my family. The Doctors told us we had welcomed a little miracle as well. Our little girl was healthy and finally glad to be out of that small half uterus she was stuck in for the past month! One of the Doctors told me he had hadn't seen a Unicorn uterus in 15 years, and that it only occurs in 1% of women. (of course I was that 1%)
After my recovery, I decided to research Unicornate uterus. This is what I was able to find.

A unicornuate uterus is a rare congenital anomaly representing 1-2% of all uterovaginal anomalies. Poor reproductive function is frequently associated with this condition. A greater incidence of primary infertility, pregnancy loss and preterm labor has been reported with congenital uterine anomalies. Unicornuate uteri, in particular, have shown the highest rate of primary infertility (15%) and the poorest fetal survival (40%). The management and outcome of a patient with a left unicornuate uterus and a twin gestation is discussed. The unicornuate uterus is a rare diagnosis. Andrews and Jones were able to find only 8 women with this diagnosis in their entire infertility and obstetric practice at Norfolk General Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital between 1969 and 1981. This defect is considered to represent about 1 -2 % of all uterovaginal anomalies. A review of the literature from 1959 to 1983 showed that in 119 pregnancies in 50 patients with unicornuate uteri, there was a spontaneous abortion rate of 33%, a premature delivery rate of 29%, and a live birth rate of 66 % , whereas another study estimated fetal wastage to be 31% .

A unicornuate uterus is the least common congenital uterine anomaly and represents 1 to 2% of cases. A unicornuate uterus can be asymptomatic. However, women with a functioning non-communicating horn may experiencepain during periods, because there is no outlet for the menstrual fluid. Women with a unicornuate uterus are at risk of reproductive complications. They may have a difficult time becoming pregnant because typically only one fallopian tube functions. In fact the condition is sometimes first discovered when a women undergoes an infertility investigation.

Pregnancy can occur with a unicornuate uterus, and the term pregnancy rate is approximately 47%. But women with a unicornuate uterus who do become pregnant are at risk of: Spontaneous abortion - it is thought that the abnormal shape of the uterus itself and compromised blood flow to the uterus and placenta lead to spontaneous abortion.

Premature labor - since the uterine cavity is smaller than usual, the baby outgrows the available space earlier in the pregnancy and there is an increase in breech presentation during delivery.

Surgical correction of a unicornuate uterus is not possible, as the uterus can not be enlarged. Cervical cerclage may be recommended for women with a unicornuate uterus who have experienced miscarriages or premature births.Pregnancy can also occur in a non-communicating arm. The situation is similar to an ectopic pregnancy and must be treated as an emergency. If pregnancy occurs in the non-communicating arm, uterine rupture occurs in approximately 89% of cases by the end of the second trimester. Because of this risk, surgical removal of the non-communicating arm is recommended. Removal of a solid non-functioning arm is not necessary.

Diagnostic procedures
It is difficult to diagnose a unicornuate uterus with ultrasound. The condition can be visualized with MRI, three-dimensional sonography and with laparoscopy.

My husband and I feel extremely blessed to have such a beautiful and healthy little girl. What a scary, wonderful, emotional journey this has been. Thank you for letting me share my story.