Told she had two vaginas, wombs and cervixes, Eleanor Rowe feared she would never mother her own children.
But the 36-year-old has now defied the slim odds, which saw her experience the heartbreak of one miscarriage along the way, Mailonline reports.
Rowe only found out about her unusual anatomy five years ago, after she went to freeze her eggs as a single woman.
Doctors removed the wall that divided the vaginas – leaving her with two cervixes and wombs – in 2015, and a year later, she met her husband, Chris.
The two were keen to have children, even though Rowe had been told it would be difficult due to her condition, called uterus didelphys.
But after doing ‘everything’ they could, the couple, from Ranskill, Nottinghamshire, found out Rowe was pregnant in November 2018, and Imogen Hope was born three months ago, weighing 5lbs 70z.
Rowe, who works as a counselor, said, ‘I just can’t believe I had lived three decades and didn’t know this was all going on inside me.
‘When I was told I had two of everything it did just seem a bit strange. I had had smear tests before and this was never picked up.
‘And all of a sudden I found myself with this unique anatomy which I had never heard of before. I did take it in good stead. I’d joke and say I had a designer vagina. But the only thing I was worried about was my fertility. That was my main concern. I just can’t believe she’s (Imogen Hope) actually here.’
In April 2013, single Rowe decided to freeze her eggs after having just entered her early 30s and spent £6,000 on two harvesting cycles at a London clinic.
But when she was sent for a 3D scan of her ovaries, the sonographer mistakenly thought she was having full IVF treatment and instead carried out a 3D scan of her womb.
The results showed an abnormality on the scan, which led staff to believe she may have two wombs.
Rowe was referred to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow for an investigative operation which revealed she also had two cervix and two vaginas.
The condition is known as uterus didelphys – a rare congenital abnormality – developed when she was a foetus. It affects around one in 3,000 women.
Women are able to have children, but have a slightly higher risk of late miscarriage, premature delivery, and bleeding during pregnancy.
Mrs. Rowe said, “When I was first told about it I was just really confused. I thought how could I have gone through life and not know. When I would go for smear tests nothing was picked up. It was just by chance that it was picked up.
“I’m glad I did find out when I did because that meant my pregnancy could be monitored. It was just such a strange thing.”
