Heart Shaped Box

Before I go any further, PLEASE tell me someone gets the song reference in the title of the post. I'll feel really old if nobody does.

I had my first appointment with my new provider this morning. All-in-all it was as expected. We went over history. She estimated my due date. Based on the u/s that I had in the ER a few weeks back apparently we're looking at October 17th rather than the 15th. A couple of days later than LMP is expected due to my late ovulation (see chart), so whatever. They scheduled me for my first shot at hearing the heartbeat (FINALLY!), and then sent me to the vampires in the lab for blood draws and peeing in a cup.


As of right now, my first chance at seeing a heartbeat won't be until March 31st. I'll be about 11.5 weeks. Ironically, I'll be getting a NT Scan at a different hospital (the u/s tech that does them at the military hospital is deployed) at roughly the same time (11-13 weeks). I'll be waiting what feels like an eternity for an u/s, and then getting two in two weeks time. Figures.



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Now for the big news of the day. Apparently I have what they are deeming a Bicornate Uterus. I knew at my ER visit at 6 weeks that they were looking at the possibility, but I had no idea it was official. I'm honestly kind of suspecting its the fibroid I've been told is there growing and distorting things, but they are right to be conservative.


For those that don't know, a bicornate uterus is basically one with a partial division down the center. There are two common shapes to a bicornate uterus. Heart-shaped and two horned. I'm the heart-shaped variety. I don't have an image of my own yet, so here is the closest I could find on the internet to what I saw during my u/s.

A three-dimensional image that demonstrates a heart-shaped bicornuate uterus. Fundal indentation is well seen (arrow), as well as the widely divergent horns (asterisks) with a single cervix (arrowhead). (Image and explanation courtesy of: http://tinyurl.com/4gnr7zd)

From what I've been able to find online, the biggest risks are:
*Miscarriage if implantation happens in a region of the uterus where growth would be too restricted.

*Early delivery due to space restrictions.

*Cesarean section due to breech/transverse presentation. Basically the shape of the the uterus can restrict the baby being able to flip into a head-down position for delivery.

I've also found examples on the internet of women going full term and doing natural deliveries, so I'm just taking it as something they'll be watching closely. We'll deal with potential complications as we go. I've already got a list going for questions to ask the doctor. Right now I'm just trying to remind myself that this is the same pregnancy as it was yesterday, I'll just be watched more closely now. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was concerned though. Its scary being told your pregnancy is now deemed risky enough that they are sending you to the Big Dogs to be watched more closely. The same place that you were told just weeks ago was for "high risk" only. *Gulp*