Delivering twins itself can be a taxing job. Imagine delivering them while having a rare 'heart-shaped' uterus.
Karen Troy (25) gave birth to a pair of twins while owning a heart-shaped bicornuate uterus. The odds of getting pregnant with a heart-shaped uterus? One in 500 million!
Troy and her husband Shaunan were elated when they heard the pregnancy news back in January 2021. However, their happiness was short-lived after finding out that Karen has a bicornuate uterus in March 2021.
The pregnancy went smoothly until 34 weeks. However, to make the delivery more complicated than it already was, Karen developed pre-eclampsia.
Bicornuate uterus (heart shaped uterus) poses certain challenges in pregnancy like miscarriage (abortion), preterm delivery , growth restriction of fetus (IUGR), and abnormal lies or presentations of fetus due to spacing issue (e.g., breech position). And then think of twins competing that limited space: it is double whammy for the situation. A pre term delivery is not an unexpected outcome in this scenario.Dr Munish Raizada, Board Certified Neonatologist, Chicago
Karen's blood pressure increased, and she was rushed to the hospital for a C-section delivery. Karen finally gave birth to her twins, Ryan and Raelynn on 5th September 2021. Ryan and Raelynn weighed 5lbs 10oz and 5lbs 1oz respectively.
However, it was not an end to their struggles. The twins had to be kept at Umass Memorial Medical Centre in Massachusetts for 27 days. They had to be kept in the NICU for the first 24 hours. Ryan's heart rate was always up and down.
Karen was under observation as well. She had to stay in a machine to stop any seizures from the pre-eclampsia.
(Input from various media sources)