What is a vaginal septum? All about this bizarre condition that affects 72,000 women worldwide

An Australian woman has claimed that she was born with two vaginas and was unaware of her unusual anatomy until she was 21.

'I didn't know what was wrong with me' said 30-year-old Scarlett Rose, who is supposed to have always experienced pain during sex.

She was apparently clueless about what was wrong with her and since medics were also unable to figure out the issue, with some even telling her it was all ‘in her head’ — Scarlett felt ‘like an alien,’ the Daily Mail informs.

Scarlett always reportedly assumed that the pain she was experiencing during sex was because she 'wasn't ready' or because it was 'supposed to hurt.'

However, when she underwent surgery during her pregnancy, it was discovered that her vagina was split in two.

Vaginal septum and its types

According to an earlier report in Healthline, a vaginal septum is a condition that happens when the female reproductive system is not fully developed in the womb.

Due to this, there is a dividing wall of tissue in the vagina that is not visible externally.

Statistics suggest that up to 72,000 women worldwide have a transverse vaginal septum.

According to experts, there are two different types of the condition — longitudinal vaginal septum (LVS) which runs vertically, and transverse vaginal septum (TVS) which runs horizontally.

Since Scarlett’s dividing tissue wall reportedly ended two trt therapy centimetres before the vaginal opening, it was reportedly difficult to view and hard for it to be diagnosed by doctors.

Speaking about her ordeal, she said, 'When I found out I had two vaginas I was relieved because it took me years to figure out what was wrong.

'Now, sex isn't painful and I can lead a normal life.'

Scarlett who is a councillor, adds, 'I also want other women to know they are not alone in this.'

Over the course of three years before her diagnosis, she recalls undergoing laparoscopic surgery, ultrasounds, pap smears, and treatments for thrush, bacterial vaginosis (vaginal inflammation), and vaginismus (tightening of vaginal muscles during penetration).

She is quoted as saying, ‘I developed severe anxiety because of it. I knew that I was experiencing physical pain, and when you are told there is no issue or that people don’t believe you, it’s very difficult. I was so embarrassed.’

Scarlett also informs that she didn’t realise there was an issue until her husband, told her that her pain was not normal.

She adds, 'Even when we talked to friends about it, men would tell me I wasn't good enough and that I needed to figure my problems out as a lack of sex wasn't fair on my husband.

'Having sex was incredibly painful. My husband was so supportive and understanding and made sure that I was okay.'

She went on to conceive her son, Hunter who is now eight years old but she describes the experience as ‘incredibly painful.’

Yet, doctors reportedly told Scarlett that delivering a baby might help with the pain. ‘They assumed my pelvic floor was too tight and having a baby can loosen it' she said.

But at 21 weeks into her pregnancy, Scarlett was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery due to a weak cervix which could reportedly induce labour prematurely.

During the surgery, doctors discovered that her vagina was split in two and removed the septum or dividing tissue, thereby creating one vagina.

The new mom was informed that if the doctors had failed to discover the tissue, she and her son could have died during the birth due to hemorrhaging.

She reportedly said, 'After I gave birth, I had to have a smear test at six weeks post-partum. I was terrified because they were usually incredibly painful but after the surgery, it was completely fine.’

She adds, 'I wanted to raise awareness because then you can go to appointments with an idea of what is going on and you're more likely to get help and support.

'I want people to see my story and know about it so they can advocate for themselves,' she concludes.