One Ovary Pregnancy: Can You Conceive With One Ovary Removed? Woman Has 'Miracle' Baby
Ovarian cancer is scary enough without having to worry about whether you will ever be able to have kids in the future. But it’s a real concern for many women.
Happy endings are possible, though — as in the case of Jennifer Callaway, according to a recent report from WLS in Chicago. The ABC-owned station says the woman had her right ovary removed and went through chemotherapy after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer several years ago, before she met husband Brett. Although “in my heart of hearts, I was sort of convinced that this was not gonna happen,” Jennifer Callaway told the station, in reference to conceiving children, the woman gave birth to a girl last week who she called “a miracle.”
“During Jennifer's C-section, doctors were able to examine her remaining ovary and uterus to make sure they still looked healthy and cancer free, and she was given a clean bill of health,” WLS said.
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All surgical procedures come with risks, but having one ovary removed does not necessarily mean a woman will not be able to bear children. The possibility of getting pregnant with only one ovary is a popular topic on discussion boards. In one blog post for Women’s Health Foundation, a woman shares that after having her right ovary removed due to a ruptured cyst she still menstruated normally, and “my two daughters are evidence that ol’ lefty (as I fondly call my remaining ovary) picked up the slack.”
It’s possible that, with one ovary removed and thus a woman’s supply of eggs diminished, the window in which she can conceive children will be shorter, but the fertility is still there. The Mayo Clinic says it is still possible to conceive naturally when there’s only one ovary. A problem may arise when both ovaries are taken out, but even for those women there is hope: “If both of your ovaries are removed (bilateral oophorectomy), but your uterus remains, you may be able to become pregnant using assisted reproductive technology.”
When surgical removal of an ovary is not the only treatment for cancer, things can get tricky because certain treatments can make you sterile. “The most severe damage is caused when radiation is applied to the ovaries … and by chemotherapy drugs called alkylating agents,” the Mayo Clinic explains. The degree of damage depends on the type of cancer, how much it has progressed and your age, among other factors. Treatments can “affect eggs, hormone levels, or the functioning of the ovaries, uterus or cervix. The risk of developing premature menopause after certain cancer treatments increases as you age.”
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The ovaries are a pair of reproductive glands that make eggs, and the cancer can be hard to detect in them because symptoms such as pain, bloating and menstrual changes are more likely to present themselves if the disease has spread to other parts of the body. It’s the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths for women.
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