A mother-of-three who suffered periods so heavy she needed 30 sanitary pads a day was told her GP “some women bleed a lot” before scans revealed she has two wombs.
Jade Williams, 31, from Basingstoke, began having problems after giving birth to her first daughter, Elouise, in November 2012, when she was 19.
Even after having three more children – Ajay, seven, Maisie, five, and Sienna, four – Jade’s bleeding persisted and doctors struggled to determine the reason.
The mother of four, who wore diaper-sized pads and two pairs of pants to prevent leaks, was given several medications to control the bleeding, but nothing helped.
But in late 2023, Williams moved to another hospital where exploratory surgery revealed she was bleeding from two uteruses.
Jade Williams, 31, from Basingstoke, started having heavy periods after giving birth to her first daughter, Elouise, in November 2012, when she was 19.
The rare condition, known as uterus didelphys, had gone undetected despite Williams having four children and numerous scans were carried out as a result.
The condition is congenital, meaning babies are born with it.
It occurs while the female fetus is developing and is rare; It is believed to affect only 0.03 percent of the population.
Often called a double uterus, women with this condition usually have two separate cervixes (the name given to the opening at the base of the uterus) and, even more rarely, two vaginas.
Uterus didelphys is often only detected after puberty when it is detected during a physical exam or routine examination.
Women with a double uterus are at higher risk for problems during pregnancy, such as miscarriages and premature births.
‘I had heavy bleeding after my first daughter. I could barely leave the house; I was wearing underwear, pads, tights, pants, and I still had to go home and change,” Mrs Williams said.
‘The doctors gave me pills but nothing helped and I became so swollen that it was bigger than when I was pregnant.
“They told me it would stop on its own and not to worry, but of course I was worried.”
McDonald’s manager Williams explained that the heavy bleeding began after her first pregnancy in 2012.
The symptom worsened over time and caused painful cramps.
When she went to her GP with her debilitating symptoms, she claims she was told that “some women bleed a lot” and was prescribed hormonal contraceptives to control the bleeding. But it does not work.
For a decade, she had no idea what was causing her extremely heavy periods and They finally transferred him to another hospital in the hope that they would take him seriously.
‘I thought: “I can’t go on living like this.”
“I knew it wasn’t normal and it wasn’t going to go away,” Mrs. Williams said.
In October 2023, she went for a scan and was called in for an emergency biopsy shortly after.
Ms Williams had needed treatment to have pre-cancerous cells removed from her cervix immediately after her first pregnancy, more than a decade earlier.
The rare condition, known as uterus didelphys, had not been overlooked even though Mrs Williams had four children and countless scans were carried out as a result.
After more biopsies and exploratory surgery the following month, Ms Williams was given the all-clear.
But the doctors continued to tell her the reason why her bleeding was so profuse: because she was bleeding from two uteruses.
She said: “They said the condition causes premature birth and all my babies were born premature, so that makes sense.”
Doctors also removed nine uterine polyps during the procedure.
Doctors weren’t sure why, but after surgery, her second uterus began to fail and eventually became blocked.
McDonalds manager Ms Williams has since been fitted with an IUS device, which is a form of hormonal contraception that can also make periods lighter, shorter and less painful, according to the NHS.
Ms Williams has since been fitted with an IUS device, which is a form of hormonal contraception that can also make periods lighter, shorter and less painful, according to the NHS.
The coil was inserted into her only remaining functional uterus and has helped her get back to going about her daily life without worrying about heavy periods.
She said: ‘Since the bleeding has been brought under control, I have been able to return to work and will be able to wear shorts and dresses for the first time this summer.
“But this condition ruined my life for ten years and we need more research into it.”
He added: “My situation is much better now.
‘Before I was constantly using heating pads and using 30 pads a day, it was very bad.
‘In summer I needed to wear a jacket in case I had to tie it around my waist; people asked me “are you hot?” and I would say “yes!”
‘Now I can go swimming with my children; Before, when they asked me, I had to say no.
‘I finally know the reason and I can have a more normal life.
‘But there isn’t much awareness and I still never got answers.
“I want more women to be aware of it and I want more information to be available.”