United Kingdom: Andreea, 26, from Salisbury in Wiltshire was told during a check-up when she was 14, that she had a very rare condition called uterus didelphys – which means she has two vaginas and two wombs. She has decided to raise awareness of the rare condition to help others.
‘I knew a sexual health check-up would include a slightly uncomfortable examination, but I was in such a lot of pain, it hurt so badly I had to ask the doctor to stop,’ explained Andreaa. The gynecologist then discovered that he could not insert the speculum because Andreea has cartilage dividing the entrance to her vagina, effectively splitting it into two.
A scan found that Andreea has two vaginas and two wombs. Both uterus function, but Andreea has since been told that one has lower chances of reproduction. She is now considering her future and hopes one day to have children – a difficulty that wasn’t discussed at the time.
Andreea has a dividing wall of tissue around 2cm inside her vagina that’s not visible externally. Any future complications or risks to her fertility were not talked about at her young age but when she fell pregnant at 17, sadly at three months her baby stopped growing, which she later found out is a danger linked to the condition.
“In theory I have two wombs so I could fall pregnant, whilst pregnant and carry two babies at the same time but I want to know if I can carry one baby safely”, she said.
Her condition doesn’t cause her pain day to day, however she does face a double whammy of monthly period pains. Andreea said, “I do suffer very bad period cramps, I can be doubled over and unable to move some months. I guess that comes with having an extra uterus”.