Motherhood is a special feeling. Any woman who has given birth will vouch for this.
Some pregnancies come with complications, and women worldwide fight through them to bring new life into the world.
In one such instance, a woman with a rare heart-shaped uterus defied all odds and gave birth to a pair of twins in a “one-in-500 million” occurrence.
Picture: Karen Troy/SWNS
A 25-year-old woman, Karen Troy, in Northborough, Massachusetts, US, got the news
in January 2021
that she and her husband, Shaunan, were set to become parents.
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Heart-shaped uterus detected by doctors
Picture: Karen Troy/SWNS
Their excitement knew no bounds, but a medical analysis shocked them.
In March 2021, doctors told the couple that Karen was pregnant with twins, but she had a heart-shaped uterus, medically termed the bicornuate uterus.
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Bicornuate uterus is a rare medical condition detected in only four in 1,000 women globally. The chance of giving birth to twins with a heart-shaped uterus stands roughly at one in 500 million.
Woman unaware of rare uterus during first pregnancy
However, Karen had no idea about her uterus’ shape during her first pregnancy, as it goes undetected in scans in most cases.
“I was more worried about the fact I was having two babies than having a heart-shaped uterus. I just wanted to make sure they were OK,” Karen was quoted as saying by The Independent.
“I didn’t believe I had a heart-shaped uterus at first, so I went back for another scan to make sure it was true. I was monitored closely because it was a high-risk pregnancy,” she added.
Despite having a smooth pregnancy up until 34 weeks, Karen had to opt for a c-section upon developing pre-eclampsia, which is known to cause high blood pressure.
The emotional moment
On September 5, 2021, Karen gave birth to babies Ryan and Raelynn, who had to spend 27 days in the NICU before the hospital authorities let them go home.
Picture: Karen Troy/SWNS
Karen was allowed to return home after four days.
“It was really emotional seeing them for the first time because they were tiny. I was so happy but scared to have two tiny babies,” Karen further said.
“The first 24 hours were really hard for me. I had to stay in a machine to stop any seizures from the pre-eclampsia. The twins had to stay in the NICU to learn to feed and stabilise their breathing,” Karen added.
She added, “Ryan’s heart rate kept going up and down.”
The twins are 16 months old now. They have some delays in their motor skills but are thriving.
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