U.K. (WKRC) - An expecting mother got the surprise of a lifetime when she learned she was giving birth to "twins" -- twins that were conceived three weeks apart.
“I had an early scan at seven weeks and another one at 10 weeks,” said Rebecca Roberts. “Both times they saw this tiny little baby on there. And it was ever only one baby.”
Mom and Dad, Rhys, were preparing for their new son, Noah, when suddenly, at 12 weeks, another little heartbeat showed up in a scan.
“What had happened was I got pregnant whilst I was already pregnant, which was absolutely crazy when they told us, because that’s not supposed to happen,” said Rebecca.
The unexpected arrival was Noah's little sister, Rosalie.
The two babies were conceived about three weeks apart due to an incredibly rare condition called superfetation.
“It’s unusual in this case that the woman appears to have ovulated once for the larger baby and then later for the smaller baby,” said gynecologist Dr. Lillian Schapiro.
A study of the condition in 2008 found less than 10 recorded cases of it in the world.
Doctors suspect the fertility drugs Rebecca was taking may have contributed to it.
The twins were born about six weeks early, with Noah weighing in at four pounds, 10 ounces, and Rosalie at just two pounds, seven ounces.
Luckily, after a stay in the NICU, both babies are happy and healthy.
“I definitely think of them as twins. They were born at the same time,” Rebecca said. “They might not have been conceived at the same time, but I still carried them at the same time. They were born at the same time, so yeah, they’re twins.”
https://local12.com/news/offbeat/medical-marvel-woman-gets-pregnant-while-already-pregnant
#FB00731
