A resident of Horodok in Lviv Oblast endured three consecutive miscarriages before doctors identified the true cause of her recurrent pregnancy loss. It proved to be a rare congenital anomaly — two uteruses, each with its own cervix. Specialists at St Anna’s Hospital, part of Lviv’s First Medical Association and better known as the maternity hospital on Mechnykova Street, helped the woman become a mother twice over.
The 27-year-old patient had known from childhood that she had only one kidney, but no other congenital abnormalities had been detected at the time. After marrying, the couple dreamed of having two children; however, their first three pregnancies ended in early miscarriage. In 2021, upon falling pregnant for the fourth time, the woman sought help from Lviv specialists. Examinations revealed that the anomaly in her reproductive organs had arisen from a failure of the Müllerian ducts — the embryonic structures from which the female reproductive organs develop — to fuse correctly.
“The patient’s second uterus is smaller, and the miscarriages occurred because those pregnancies had implanted within it. Such pregnancy loss is seen in women with uterine hypoplasia — a pathologically underdeveloped organ. A small uterus of this kind grows up to a point, but as the foetus enlarges it can no longer bear the strain and begins to contract. Sustaining such a pregnancy is therefore extremely difficult.” — Olena Zhemela, obstetrician-gynaecologist at St Anna’s Hospital.
Fortunately, the fourth pregnancy developed in the larger uterus. Given her complex medical history, the woman was kept under close medical supervision and received appropriate treatment. At 37 weeks, via planned caesarean section, a healthy baby girl was born. The patient noted that she could contact Dr Olena Mykhailivna Zhemela at any moment, and that this gave her great reassurance.
Four years later, the woman returned to the same specialists — this time expecting a boy. The pregnancy had again formed in the larger uterus, and the mother-to-be followed all medical recommendations throughout. A baby boy weighing 2,750 g was recently delivered by caesarean section. Both mother and child are in a satisfactory condition. The couple’s dream of having two children has at last come true.