The West Australian was shocked to discover she had grown a uterus

A 21-year-old woman has told how she “grew a uterus” after never going through puberty.

Ashley Reilly, from Western Australia, said it was at the end of primary school when many of her friends started menstruating and going through puberty.

“For me, it just never happened. I didn’t talk about it because I wasn’t really sure if it was normal or if I was a late bloomer,” she told news.com.au.

By the time she was 16, she told her mother and aunt what was happening, and in turn, they took her to a GP.

After telling the doctor that she had never had a menstrual cycle or had breasts, she was sent for an ultrasound.

Examination revealed that she had no uterus or cervix, and a shortened vaginal canal.

It resulted in her being diagnosed with MRKH syndrome, which is a condition that causes the vagina and uterus to be underdeveloped or absent – ​​despite the external genitalia appearing normal.

This meant that for the past five years, Ashley had countless specialist appointments, scans, blood tests and MRIs.

She was also given medication for the hormone estrogen.

“The last scan I had was an internal ultrasound and they were like, ‘Here’s your uterus.’ I was like, ‘Excuse me.’ I was shocked,” she said.

“I didn’t know what to say, especially after all these years of thinking there’s nothing there. I still can’t get over it

Ashley said a specialist told her what happened to her was “rare,” saying most people can’t “grow” a uterus just by being on estrogen.

She was told that if her uterus continues to grow, there is a chance she could get pregnant, but IVF is likely to help her as her ovaries are not overactive.

After changing her medication, based on her doctors advice, she can expect to have her period soon.

However, it has not been all positive news.

Ashley said a full-body X-ray revealed she had developed scoliosis due to hormones and because of her condition, her bone density and size are equivalent to a 14-year-old.

“There’s kind of hope, but at the same time, I don’t really want to get my hopes up,” Ashley said.

The young woman revealed that she had wanted to be a mother all her life and the news was hard to accept when she first discovered her situation five years ago.

“My original plan was to go through surrogacy,” she said.

“I’m kind of changing my mindset, which I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

However, it turns out that her initial diagnosis of MRKH was incorrect.

She has since been rediagnosed with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism – also known as hypo hypo.

Hypo hypo is a condition where the ovaries produce little or no sex hormones due to a problem with the pituitary gland. Ashley said she is still learning about the condition.

Ashley is sharing her story on her TikTok page because she knows there isn’t an abundance of information out there about MRKH or hypo hypo, and she wants to be someone people can look up to as an example.

As someone who experienced it and felt like she couldn’t speak out, she wants to give others the confidence to do so.