My new hobby, and a progesterone question all in one!

I just wanted to share a picture of myself enjoying my latest hobby. It's something I try to squeeze into my schedule at least once or twice a week. In fact, I was thinking as a side business perhaps I should look into designing a more comfortable table or chair to enjoy the experience in. Perhaps a comfy recliner type chair that allowed you to "put your feet up" for the exhilarating experience? I wonder if any infertility patients or bleeding first trimester pregnant women have contacted La.zy Boy for their input. Here's me enjoying that new hobby at that maternal fetal medicine (MFM) office before our appointment with my peri last week. I can't believe I was missing out on this one of a kind experience my whole life before fertility treatments. So many women out there don't know what they're missing (cold gel, the dildo cam...ahh the memories we'll have :-) Shhhh, don't let the cat out of the bag or else there will be a run on transvaginal ultrasounds at a RE's or MFM office near you, leaving none for the rest of us!

When I was at my OB doctor's office yesterday, he shared with me the dictation notes from the MFM appointment last week that the peri had written. Most dealt with the complications possible for person with a unicornuate uterus during pregnancy. I always appreciate it when my doctor shares my actual chart with me so that we are completely on the same page, including notes from a consult appointment he referred me to. I have to love the last line summary of the notes written by my peri "in summary, discussed with patient (me) issues of a unicornuate uterus such as preterm labor, most likely breech presentation, IUGR, uterine rupture, incomptent cervix and other complications likely to occur in at least greater than 50% of each pregnancy. Hmmmm, my first honest reaction....YIKES! Or perhaps, what the f--k! Then I thought, what the heck...lets throw a complete previa in the mix! But to be honest, it's not something I didn't somewhat know before. I think it just hit home a little more now that I'm actually pregnant and saw it in a dictation note from a respected physician.

Sometimes medical lingo gets thrown around at appointments that my husband attends, leaving me to later when we get home find a website that explains the appointment in clearer terms. My husband is probably one of the smartest people I know, but that's one of the downfalls of me going to physicians I work with, also as a patient. Often at appoinments they skip over some things that they would explain to everyone else and my husband is left going, "huh?" I can only imagine it's how I feel when he comes home from work spouting off facts about telematics, infotanment equipment and things more involved than 802.11. ALthough, I'm proud to say I finally understand binary numbers after all these years, something he's quite proud of teaching me :-)

So anyways when looking for so additional information for my husband, I found this and I thought this website summarized problems with a unicornuate uterus well.

What effect do uterine abnormalities have?




A unicornuate uterus (a womb with one 'horn') happens when the tissue that forms the womb does not develop properly. This is a very rare condition. A unicornuate uterus is just half the size of a normal womb and the woman has only one fallopian tube. However, she usually has two ovaries. Often there is a simultaneous abnormality of the kidneys, such as one kidney instead of two, diagnosable by abdominal ultrasound or, more specifically, by a special kidney x-ray study called an intravenous pyelogram.

On fertility: Women with a unicornuate uterus may have difficulties conceiving, because they have only one fallopian tube. However, pregnancy in women with this condition is far from unknown. In general, uterine abnormalities do not prevent a woman from getting pregnant, but they may make it more difficult for her to carry a baby for the full nine months of pregnancy.

On pregnancy: Women with uterine abnormalities, particularly unicornate uterus, are more likely to have complications during pregnancy or delivery, whether the baby was conceived spontaneously or by Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), compared with women with normal shaped uteri.

If the uterus is an unusual shape, many babies will settle into the breech position rather than into the normal head-down position. If you are expecting a breech baby you will be offered a caesarean because this is currently considered the safest way for the baby to be born.

If you have a unicornuate or bicornuate uterus you may go into premature labour because there comes a point where there simply isn't enough room for the baby to grow any more, and over-stretching of the womb triggers labour. Alternatively, the cervix (neck) of an abnormally shaped womb may not be strong enough to keep the baby inside and it opens too early and lets the baby out. This is called a weak cervix, sometimes called an "incompetent cervix" and it tends to be a problem for women with an abnormally shaped uterus who are expecting their first baby. The more pregnancies you have, the less of a problem it tends to be.

Sorry that this is truly a boring post, I know. It even has me yawning! Well, my bleeding actually looks like it is trying to transition to the red spotting I am more comfortable with. My OB wants me to continue the progesterone through week 12 now instead of only week 10 like previously planned due to the bleeding. Supposedly the placenta should be taking over some of that function by now, but we're continuing those extra two weeks just to be safe.

I have a question for anyone who might be able to help, so please pass it along if you would be so kind. It deals with progesterone shots at 16ish weeks. Has anyone used it at this point? My OB said that if after I stop the progesterone after 12 weeks I still have a lot of cramping and bleeding, then we'll be giving me a once a week progesterone shot to "keep my uterus quiet" and hopefully decrease the likelihood of future problems. I need to clarify the purpose of this. I understand the smooth muscle relaxant property of the drug, but I'm unclear of it's use at this particular point in the pregnancy. Is the progesterone to prevent the likelihood of preterm labor? Or is it to decrease bleeding caused by a uterus contracting too soon? Is the once a week shot continued all the way through the remaining portion of the pregnancy? Thanks in advance for you help. If you've used it before at that point, I'd love to hear why they put you on it and how long you took it for.

I hope that my uterus decides to continue to behave. I think it should learn a lesson or two from "A uterus divided". Her poor uterus gave her a run for her money this weekend as well, but is currently behaving and not causing any more bleeding. So go over and wish her a better week ahead if you get a chance. Gosh this was too long of a post. Word vomit tends to be a downfall of mine these days...sorry.