I was born with two vaginas

Faye Welch, 39, defied the odds to carry her children in two different wombs

- By Ashleigh Page

The sound of giggling erupted from the living room, and I poked my head around the door, stopping to watch my daughter Molly, 14, and my son George, 10. They were laughing together on the sofa and I thought how nice it was to hear them having fun, rather than bickering. All mothers will tell you how special their children are, but when I watch my two together and admire how different they are, yet still so similar in many ways, it strikes me just how true that sentiment is for them. Despite being my biological children and me carrying and giving birth to them both, they were actually conceived and carried in two different wombs.

RARE CONDITION

I first realised something was different about me when I was 14. My friends were all starting their periods and yet mine stubbornly stayed away. Until one day I suddenly felt an odd popping sensation. In the bathroom, I found blood in my underwear. Calling for my mum, she took me to the hospital because the bleeding was so heavy. They suspected a cyst had burst. Only, after more scans they actually discovered I had two wombs, two cervices and two vaginas - a rare condition known as uterus didelphys. And I'd actually been having periods for a while but a blockage caused by my condition had stopped them from making themselves known.

As if that wasn't enough to take in, the doctor had even more shocking news. "It'll be really difficult for you to have children,' he said. And if I did, it would be impossible for me to give birth naturally. At 14, I wasn't thinking about my future family plans and was simply relieved when the specialists said they could turn my two vaginas into one with surgery, and that my two wombs were small but functioning at least.