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The thing about rare medical conditions is that sometimes, doctors don’t diagnose them because they’re not actually looking for what you’ve got. Which has to be extremely frustrating in some situations – and totally shocking in others.
I would guess that Brittany Jacobs felt both of those emotions after discovering during childbirth that she has two vaginas, two cervixes, and two uteruses.
https://www.tiktok.com/@britsburg/video/6942580383837965573?referer_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2F&referer_video_id=6942580383837965573&refer=embed&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Also perhaps some anger, because she’s had two periods and two sets of cramps her entire life, and doctors had always made her to feel as it it wasn’t really a big deal.
Then she went through an entire pregnancy, during which all of those lady bits are poked and prodded sometimes multiple times a month, and her doctors never noticed anything was off?
It wasn’t until an actual baby was trying to come through one of those (smaller than average) cervix and vaginas that a nurse realized what was going on and finally diagnosed her. She was 25 years old.
The official word for it is uterus didelphys, and Buzzfeed news spoke with OBGYN Dr. Mary Jane Minkin to get the lowdown, including how common it actually is.
“The female reproductive system actually forms from two tubular structures (right and left) that join together.
These tubes join together and basically form the uterus, cervix, and going down to the vagina.
What happens also after these two fuse — the thing between the two as they get together goes away, it dissolves.
And that’s called the septum between the two tubes.
So what can happen is — depending on how much of the septum doesn’t disappear — as these two tubes fuse, you can end up with two totally next-door-to-each-other tracts.”
Here’s how that would look…
Image Credit: blog.gtsmeditour.com
There are variations on the condition, such as people who might have two uterine horns but one cervix and one vagina, or everything could be doubled, which is what Brittany has dealt with her entire life.
Also? She says it’s not all that rare.
“Basically, all gynecologists who get to be old see some patients with it in their lifetime.”
She says doctors usually see it during a routine pelvic exam or an ultrasound, but admits that it is possible to miss it, especially if one opening is a lot bigger the other.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLaXzF2HmKD/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=d3b80b67-7f89-4b39-8ca0-6063fb138fc6
As for Brittany, she’s had two successful pregnancies and, now that everyone knows what’s going on, she feels like her quality of life has improved.
That said, she told Buzzfeed that she hopes that sharing her story can help empower women to ask more questions and to insist on answers that help them understand their bodies.
“I really want people to understand the importance of teaching more about female anatomy and helping women understand their own bodies.
I cannot tell you how many women I know that don’t know proper terminology or the functions of their reproductive parts.
I also want women to believe their gut when they think something is wrong.
Doctors may not believe you the first five times, so make sure you say it the sixth time.”
I 100% agree, y’all – insist on the best possible care, and make sure you know your own body before you ask someone else to get on board. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.
Pass it on.
