Rachel Austin was diagnosed aged 12 and had surgery at 16
A woman with half a uterus warned she could never carry a child past the first trimester is now 20 weeks pregnant with her miracle baby. Rachel Austin, 28, found out aged 12 that she had two uteruses after hers split into two at a young age – known as uterus didelphys.
After a series of resulting complications, she had one half of the uterus removed aged 16. She was warned that she’d be unable to carry a baby to term if she fell pregnant – but that she was unlikely to get pregnant in the first place.
Rachel was shocked when she learned she was pregnant in mid-April. Incredibly, at the first scan, Rachel and her partner, Devon Neethling, 30, learned she was further along than they first thought – and that their baby looked healthy. Doctors have since been monitoring the high-risk pregnancy, but their miracle son has defied odds to reach the second trimester.
Rachel, a medical administrator, from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, said: “When we fell pregnant, it was a big surprise. My body had already been through so much, I never thought it would happen.
“I knew there were risks, but we decided just to let this be and let my body do its own thing. When we saw the first scan, our baby was moving around – it hit me at once and it became so real.
“Now we’re in the second trimester and he is doing so well – even though he’s growing in half a uterus. This little boy is my world and I need him to be OK – he’s our miracle. With my body, it seems anything is possible.”
Rachel was just 12 when a hospital scan showed her uterus didelphys, but as she went through puberty and her period started, things got tough. She said at one point she bled for “six months straight” because she had two separate menstrual cycles.
In December 2012, she suffered agonising pain on her right side – an indicator one uterus had become blocked. Days later, she randomly began gushing blood during a nap – enough to fill “a shallow bath” – as the blockage burst.
Rachel said: “The gynaecologist told me after that I’d need to have one uterus removed. I went to a specialist in Cape Town and the surgery took over six hours.”
After that, Rachel continued with her life – but when she became sexually active doctors warned her that she’d struggle with pregnancy.
She said: “They told me I might not get pregnant at all. If I did, the baby wouldn’t survive more than three months because I only have half a uterus.”
Rachel moved on with her life and tried to make peace with the fact she’d likely never have children. When she met partner Devon, a civil servant, in August 2024, she told him of her rare medical history and he was supportive. They were not actively trying to fall pregnant – but in mid-April, Rachel realised her period hadn’t arrived.
She said: “When I realised, I didn’t stress because sometimes it comes a bit late. But soon it was over a week and I began waking up with sickness.
“One day I woke up at 4am needing the toilet and decided to do a test. Instantly it showed two lines – positive.
“I told Devon that morning; he was so supportive and we got planning. I was nervous – I knew something bad might happen.”
She had her first ultrasound in early June – at 11.5 weeks – or so she thought. But the doctor revealed that her scan showed she was almost 15 weeks along – indicating her baby was not struggling as much as they had feared.
They are in close contact with specialists to monitor the pregnancy and give their miracle boy the best chance of survival. Doctors have agreed that at 30 weeks along, she will begin taking medication to improve the baby’s lung strength.
This is because they anticipate her needing to undergo a C-section at just 33 to 34 weeks and the baby would spend time in the NICU after birth. But doctors say the uterus could rupture before then – which would be “dangerous and risky” for both Rachel and her son.
Rachel said: “This little boy is my world, he comes first. We’re already so attached – the thought of even something tiny going wrong puts me into a dark place.
“I need him to be OK – he is our miracle, our baby and our world. He’s a gift and we’re fighting so hard for him to be ok.”
But because when she applied for medical aid in South Africa she wasn’t aware she was pregnant, she is unable to get funding for pregnancy-related medical care. If she re-applies, she’ll need to go onto a 12-month waiting period before accessing healthcare, by which time the baby will already have been born.
She said: “We’re looking at R150,000 (£6,280) – plus it’s another R60,000 (£2,472) per day he spends in the NICU.”
They’re fundraising in the hope that kind strangers, friends and family can give the tot the best chance – and allow Rachel and Devon to be parents.
Rachel added: “But we don’t have that kind of money, so we need all the help we can get for our miracle baby.”
They are fundraising on GoFundMe to help with the medical costs.