After miscarriages, woman discovers condition was giving her uterus 'an acid bath'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 22-year-old British woman who suffered two miscarriages and a failed round of IVF learned a condition was preventing her from becoming a mom by essentially giving her uterus an “acid bath,” she claims.
Callie Hayes, of Kent, told South West News Service (SWNS), a British news agency, that she was eventually diagnosed with hydrosalpinx, a condition that causes a woman’s fallopian tube to be blocked with fluid, according to Healthline. The fluid was leaking into her uterus, ultimately preventing embryos from properly implanting.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Callie Haye's swollen fallopian tube. (SWNS)
“Hearing that I had this condition that I'd never heard of before was absolutely terrifying. After two miscarriages and a failed round of IVF, it was also a bit of a relief to finally have an answer for why I'd been struggling to fall pregnant for three years,” Hayes, who had long dreamed of becoming a mother, told the outlet.
Hayes added: "Doctors described it to me as if the liquid had been giving my uterus an acid bath every month, so I'd been essentially poisoning my unborn babies by accident.”
Hydrosalpinx can occur as a result of sexually transmitted infections, ruptured appendicitis and endometriosis, among other reasons. Hayes did not say what caused the condition in her case.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ben Hayes, 28, with Callie Hayes, 22, holding newborn Teddy. (SWNS)
Treatment options for women diagnosed with hydrosalpinx vary, but typically include surgery to remove the affected fallopian tube, sclerotherapy or repairing the blocked fallopian tube, according to Healthline. Hayes chose to have her left fallopian tube removed.
"I was heartbroken,” she said of her diagnosis. “The only way to stop the liquid completely was to remove the damaged tube altogether, which would obviously reduce my chances of falling pregnant. I was terrified I might never get my dream baby, but there was a glimmer of hope and I just had to grab it and pray."
The surgery was a success. Hayes told SWNS her fallopian tube had swollen to nearly ten times its normal size due to the damage and amount of fluid inside of it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Callie Hayes with baby Teddy.
A few weeks later, Hayes was pregnant. In May, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy who she and her partner Ben named Teddy.
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"I'm so glad I had surgery to remove the tube, because, within two weeks, I was pregnant with our gorgeous little boy,” she said. "Teddy is our miracle baby, and he's just the most wonderful little man, and always making us laugh with his cheeky smile.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I thought my diagnosis meant my dreams of becoming a mom were over, but now Teddy is here and Ben and I are the happiest we've ever been,” she added.