Tiffany Haddish shares her journey with a rare ‘Heart-Shaped Uterus’ following 8 miscarriages.
Tiffany Haddish’s uncommon medical condition has been a contributing factor in her eight miscarriages. According to a feature in the Washington Post published on July 20, the Haunted Mansion star disclosed during a conversation at the doctor’s office that she had recently gone through her eighth miscarriage. Haddish shared with the nurse that she has a “heart-shaped uterus” that does not “retain anything.”
The comedienne-actress bravely revealed that she had previously only discussed her history of miscarriages with a close friend. She expressed her desire to avoid unwanted attention and sympathy, likening herself to a wounded animal seeking solitude in a cave to heal her wounds.
The actress has been candid regarding her reproductive health, past experiences, and her strong wish to become a mother.
In June 2021, Haddish revealed that she had taken parenting classes as part of her preparations for the adoption process.
Having experienced the foster care system herself as a child, the entertainer expressed her desire to adopt a child aged 5 years or older, with the intention of imparting knowledge and preparing them for the challenges of the world.
Earlier that year, she mentioned that she was not interested in having a child through a surrogate due to her previous experience of freezing her eggs. In a May 2021 interview, she explained, “I don’t want to pay anyone to carry my baby either because then I have to go through a process of giving myself injections and all that stuff.” She also disclosed that when she was 21 and in need of money, she had given up a number of her eggs.
Medically, a “bicornuate uterus” is the term used to describe a heart-shaped uterus.
The condition is considered rare, affecting less than 0.5% of women, as reported by the Cleveland Clinic. It is a congenital condition, meaning it is present at birth, but it is not life-threatening, and most individuals may not even be aware of having a heart-shaped uterus until they become pregnant or experience recurrent miscarriages. Unlike some conditions, this uterus type is not hereditary and is not passed down through genes.
According to What To Expect, bicornuate uteruses are named so because they resemble a heart shape, with a dip at the top of the reproductive organ dividing it into two cavities. This differs from the more common upside-down pear-shaped uterus, where a baby has more space to grow within the undivided cavity. It is interesting to note that around 1% of women facing fertility issues have a heart-shaped uterus.
While many women with this condition can conceive, difficulties in achieving and maintaining pregnancy might point to an anatomical issue, such as a bicornuate uterus, as pointed out by the latter source.
Besides experiencing multiple miscarriages, individuals with a heart-shaped uterus may also face the risk of pre-term birth, along with potential complications like low birth weight and breech presentation of newborns.
For those dealing with this condition, it might be worthwhile to discuss the possibility of a Strassman metroplasty with their doctor. This procedure involves joining the two cavities of the uterus into one, creating more space for the baby to develop in the womb.
Due to being considered a rare anomaly, there is limited information available on whether there is a higher prevalence of bicornuate uteruses among Black women.
