A woman with two ‘vaginas’ has revealed she didn’t find out about her rare condition until she was 32 and struggling to conceive.
Kelsi Baldwin had no idea there was anything unusual about her body up until last year, when she and her husband were shocked by the news.
The condition is called uterus didelphys and occurs when a person develops two uteruses in the womb.
Kelsi technically only has one vaginal canal, but has two cervixes and uteruses.
While this often presents as a narrower cavity, neither Kelsi nor her husband, Matt, had any idea, and only clocked on when her doctor ordered an ultrasound and MRI to tackle their fertility issues.
“After six years of trying to conceive with no success, my doctor ordered the tests,” Kelsi, who works in nursing education in Columbus, Ohio, US, told Need To Know.
“I first had an ultrasound, which was inconclusive – but by the look on the ultrasound tech’s face, I thought it was a basketball-size tumour in my uterus.
“An MRI in December 2023 led to the diagnosis.
“It was a shock and learning experience for both me and my husband.
“At first, I was very embarrassed and didn’t want to tell anyone I had it.
“I felt alone – I couldn’t find many others like me and there wasn’t a lot of information that I could find on the internet about it.
“We [Matt and I] both had no idea and were completely shocked.
“Matt was shocked, but so supportive.
“He immediately made light of the situation and said he always knew I was special!”
Kelsi, now 33, learned that the condition has affected her experience of trying to get pregnant.
She said: “It affects the ability of the sperm to meet the egg, depending on which side ovulates – which I don’t know [beforehand].
“I’ve had two chemical pregnancies [early miscarriage], two rounds of intrauterine insemination, and seven rounds of medicated cycles.
“We are currently in the middle of doing IVF so we can transfer the embryo into the right uterus – my bigger one – with hopes of successful implantation.
“I feel like the condition is my whole life these days.”
While some people experience difficulty in the bedroom as a result of the condition, it wasn’t something that had ever affected Kelsi.
While she now has to undergo two smear tests, rather than just one, medics had never spotted the condition when administering the test in previous years.
The only clue was her struggle to wear tampons.
She added: “I always bled through them.
“Vacations and life events all revolved around my period.”
After her diagnosis last winter, Kelsi looked online and found other people with the same condition on social media.
She said: “I found a support group on Facebook and was able to read others stories of struggle to conceive and multiple miscarriages.
“I also saw glimmers of hope with successful pregnancies.”
Now, she has bravely shared her story on TikTok, where her videos have been viewed millions of times.
Kelsi added: “It’s important for me to share my story so others don’t feel so alone.
“I want there to be as many resources and information for others who are diagnosed with this anomaly and who are struggling with it or struggling to conceive.”
READ MORE: Boy, 10, who might not make 20th birthday due to rare disease just ‘wants to be a normal kid’
