1 in 3 women give birth to babies from different wombs. — Photo: Andrea Mabry / Disclosure UAB Woman gives birth to babies from different uteruses. — Photo: Andrea Mabry / UAB Disclosure
According to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), a woman in the United States who has two uteruses gave birth to two babies on different days. Each of the children was in a womb.
The two girls are Kelsey Hatcher's fourth pregnancy. The first birth took place on December 19th and the second on December 20th, one being a natural birth and the other a cesarean section.
“Never in our wildest dreams could we have planned a pregnancy and birth like this. But our goal has always been to safely deliver our two healthy girls,” Kelsey said. “It seems fitting that they had two birthdays. They both had their own “homes” and now they both have their own birth stories.”
One in a million pregnancies
At the age of 17, Kelsey was diagnosed with a double uterus, also called uterus didelphys. This condition is rare and only occurs in 0.3% of women.
Shortly after Kelsey found out she was pregnant, she noticed bleeding. Because women with double uteruses are at higher risk of miscarriage, she made an appointment for her first ultrasound. That's when he found out he had two babies.
Kelsey's obstetrician, Shweta Patel, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UAB, didn't believe the discovery until she was able to see the scans herself.
The birth of a child in any uterus, also called a divitary pregnancy, is rare, estimated to be one in a million.
“I had already cared for Kelsey during her third pregnancy and knew she had a double uterus, but it was only one baby two babies in two uteruses was a real medical surprise,” the doctor said.
In addition to the uterus, each of the babies had their own pouch, placenta and umbilical cord, giving them more space than a typical twin pregnancy, explains Richard O. Davis, MD, professor in the division of maternalfetal at UAB.
Each of the babies was born in different ways: the first was a natural birth and the second by cesarean section.
The first girl to be born, named Roxi, was in the womb where Kelsey's first three babies were born, and this facilitated a natural birth.
Although they tried the same thing with the second baby, the technique ultimately didn't work and the medical team had to perform a cesarean section. Rabel was born about 10 hours after his sister.
A typical twin pregnancy is defined as two babies in the same uterus during the same pregnancy, the hospital explains.
Because Kelsey gave birth in each uterus, two eggs were released that were fertilized in the same ovulation cycle. Nevertheless, it can be said for their medical team that they are twins.
“I think it’s safe to call the girls fraternal twins,” Davis said. “At the end of the day, two babies were in the same stomach at the same time. They just had different apartments.”
2 out of 3 Kelsey holds Rebel while Caleb holds Roxi. Photo: Andrea Mabry / UAB Disclosure Kelsey holds Rebel while Caleb holds Roxi. — Photo: Andrea Mabry / Disclosure UAB 3 of 3 Rebelde on the left and Roxi on the right. — Photo: Andrea Mabry / Disclosure UAB Rebelde on the left and Roxi on the right. — Photo: Andrea Mabry / UAB Disclosure