A WOMAN who suffers with a rare condition which means her womb is split in two and appears ‘heart-shaped’ has defied the odds by giving birth to TRIPLETS.
Jemma Sheppard, 33, from Newport, was told that the condition would make it nearly impossible for her to carry one child, let alone three.
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She and husband Anton, 32, were shocked when they were told by doctors that they were expecting triplets, with all three babies in one side of her womb.
The parents were thrilled to find out their family was to be completed ‘in just one go’, as daughters Elevyn, Areya and son Rome turn six months old.
Jemma, who works in finance, said: “Anton and I would have been thrilled with just one baby, but to have such a beautiful family in one go is amazing.
“The chances of me conceiving and carrying one child was so small – so every time I look at our babies I pinch myself. It’s just a dream come true.”
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The couple, who were married in September 2015, had already been trying for a baby for a year when the doctor sent them for tests, as Jemma failed to conceive.
“Hormone tests revealed I had polycystic ovaries so I wasn’t ovulating properly,” Jemma explained. “And rather than being the usual pear shape, my uterus was heart shaped.”
Also known as an arched womb, the condition can range from just a small bump to the uterus being completely split in half – known as a bicornuate uterus.
The rare condition means expectant mother’s are more likely to miscarry or give birth prematurely, and there is no treatment to change the uterus’ shape.
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“I was devastating news,” Jemma said, explaining that while drugs helped her ovulate and get pregnant, the pair suffered three miscarriages.
The couple turned to private fertility treatment, using intrauterine insemination, and while it was successful, they were told there was only a 15 per cent chance each fertilised egg would survive.
However, two weeks later a pregnancy test came back positive, and their initial scan revealed there were three babies inside Jemma’s womb.
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Jemma continued: “I could hardly believe it when the sonographer said there were two heads – and then Anton said that he could see three.
“We were told it would be quite likely one baby might not survive, and it is common for women with a heart shaped uterus to have a premature both, so Anton and I were prepared for the worst.”
But despite the odds stacked against them, all three triplets were delivered at 35 weeks by cesarean section at Cardiff’s University Hospital.
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“We were stunned how heavy and healthy they were with only Areya needing a couple of days in the neonatal unit as she was quite tiny at 3lb 5oz.”
Three weeks later, the couple were free to go home with their three healthy babies.
Anton, a carpenter, added: “They are adorable. Elevyn loves having cuddles, Areya is really smiley and Rome is just a proper little character.”
“We can’t wait to tell them about their amazing start in my heart-shaped womb,” Jemma concluded. “They truly were born with love.”
And we shared one mum’s incredible tale, after she donated her uterus for another woman to give birth.
Plus this photo of a mum in agony moments after giving birth hits a nerve with parents.
Meanwhile this mum has a £1.5k princess castle bed built for her one-year-old.
