Woman with ten failed pregnancies conceives

City doc diagnoses mother had uterus deformity, which led to the miscarriages

For 33-year-old Kumud Gaikwad, a resident of Satara, having a child seemed like a distant dream. Kumud, who has been married for over five years, had conceived 10 times in the past half a decade and suffered a miscarriage every single time.

Running from pillar to post, she and her husband tried everything possible to ensure a successful pregnancy, but to no avail. “Every time I conceived I got hopeful, but would soon face dejection, thanks to the multiple miscarriages,” said Kumud, a homemaker.

The family consulted a doctor in their hometown for further treatment. It was after the sixth miscarriage that a doctor performed a hysteroscopy (a procedure to diagnose abnormalities in the uterus) and removed adhesions in her uterus. In the course of time, gynaecologists even told her that she had a bicornuate uterus (an abnormally shaped uterus in the form of a heart), which was the reason behind the multiple mishaps.

Despite treatments, still the next few pregnancies resulted in miscarriages. Determined to not lose hope, the couple visited Ruby Hall Clinic, in Pune, after being referred by a relative. Talking about the case, Dr Sunita Tandulwadkar, head of department of obstetrics and gynaecology at Ruby Hall, said, “Arrays of genetic tests were performed on both the parents to rule out any abnormalities — anatomically everything seemed fine. I examined the patient and immediately realised that she had been misdiagnosed. The condition she was suffering from was actually related to a septate uterus.”

A septate uterus is a deformity of the uterus, which happens during foetal development before birth in which the septum membrane divides the inner portion of uterus, said the doctors. Doctors at Ruby Hall helped Kumud deliver a healthy baby boy on November 18. The mother and child will be discharged in a couple of days. In most women, it is associated with the poorest reproductive outcomes, including recurrent pregnancy loss, preterm labour, mal-presentation, and probably infertility.

Although some patients with a uterine septum are asymptomatic and conceive and deliver without any difficulty, those who do have poor outcomes can benefit from transection of the septum, the experts added. “I suggested a septoplasty to remove the septum and subsequently put the patient on a combination of vitamins and medicines to strengthen her uterus. Following a three-month rest period, she once again conceived naturally.

This time around, we strongly advised frequent antenatal check-ups, considering it was a high-risk pregnancy. Around week 13, we gave her a cervical stitch to help retain the pregnancy and even monitored her frequently with injectable blood thinners from time-totime. Around week 37 onwards, we admitted her to the hospital, while continually monitoring the condition of the baby and the patient.

On full term, an elective C-section was performed and she delivered a healthy baby,” concluded Dr Tandulwadkar. “I had lost all hopes, but god has answered my prayers. Had we approached the doctors in Pune earlier, we would have fulfilled our dreams of becoming parents much before,” added Kumud.