A mother revealed how she became pregnant while she was already pregnant – she conceived her two daughters five days apart.
Odalis and Antonio Martinez of San Pablo, Californiathey were very happy to learn that they were expecting a baby in November 2020, having been heartbroken by a miscarriage a few months earlier.
But the best was yet to come when the 25-year-old woman discovered during her first scan that she was actually expecting two babies – conceived at different times in the same week.
The incredibly rare phenomenon is known as superfetation and is when a second, new pregnancy occurs during an initial pregnancy – and can occur days or weeks after the first.
The full-time mother said she felt “miraculous” that daughters Lilo and Imelda Martinez-Atoyak would arrive, but admitted that the couple looked so similar that she and Antonio had confused them.
In fact, the duo are so similar that Odalis says he’s telling people they’re twins instead of having to explain the truth.
Odalis, 25, and Antonio Martinez of San Pablo, Calif., Met two daughters, Imelda and Lilo, on Aug. 10, 2021. Odalis revealed that she became pregnant with one of her daughters while she was expecting her first
The incredibly rare phenomenon is known as superfetation and is when a second, new pregnancy occurs during the first pregnancy – and can occur days or weeks after the first.
Odalis said: “I got pregnant while I was pregnant.
“I’m just saying they’re twins, but after reading a lot of articles, I know they’re not technically twins, but it’s just confusing to people, so I just say, ‘Yes, they’re twins.’
“They are not technically identical, but everyone thinks they are. Definitely a lot alike.
“Sometimes my husband and I, more like my husband, will mix them up.
The mother of two reveals that it is easier to tell people that Lilo and Imedla, at six months, are twins, instead of explaining that she became pregnant while already pregnant.
Antonio will have a baby for an hour and it will be like “Oh, Lilo” this and that, and I am like “You have Imelda” and he will say “What?” And I just laugh because he said “Oh, God, I thought I had Lilo for an hour. “
“I don’t usually confuse them anymore just because I’m with them 24/7, so I feel like I can tell them apart quite easily, but a lot of people confuse them.”
Odalis and Antonio, who currently works as a counselor, got married in early 2020 and dreamed of starting their own family.
Lilo and Imelda were conceived five days apart, Odalis revealed. She learned that the girls were conceived only a few days later during their first ultrasound
The happy couple, who had a miscarriage in July 2020, were delighted to hear that Odalis is carrying two babies instead of one and now loves both their daughters.
She became pregnant but found that she had a miscarriage during their 12-week check-up in July 2020.
A few months later, the couple decided to try again, and she became pregnant the same month.
Odalis said: “I was extremely happy that the pregnancy test was positive and we were on our pregnancy trip again.
“I felt really lucky. I know a lot of people who have tried to get pregnant and just failed, so that was also my fear, but fortunately this was not our case and I got pregnant very quickly.
Odalis and Antonio admitted that they felt scared in the beginning of the pregnancy of the mother of two children. They set up a beautiful pregnancy photo for her, didn’t they
WHAT IS SUPERFETATION? THE RARE CONDITION THAT MAKES A PREGNANT WOMAN CONCEIVE
Superfetation is a rare occurrence when a woman becomes pregnant with another child while she is already pregnant.
This occurs when the egg is fertilized by sperm and implanted in the womb for the second time only days or weeks after the process first occurred.
It is extremely rare, with only a few cases reported in the medical literature. Doctors have identified superfetas in Britain, Italy and Canada.
Hormonal changes during pregnancy usually block three key processes needed for re-pregnancy:
The small chance of these three processes occurring in one man means that almost all reported cases of superfetation were in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).
During this fertility treatment, the fertilized egg is transferred to the woman’s womb. Superfetation can occur if a woman is already pregnant or becomes pregnant naturally in the days or weeks after treatment.
Superfetation is difficult to diagnose because the presence of two fetuses in the womb is usually considered twins. The main feature of superfetation is that the two fruits grow at different rates.
But there are other more common reasons for two babies to grow at different speeds.
Superfetation may increase the risk of complications in a younger baby, as there is a higher risk of premature birth.
Babies born by superfetation are often considered twins because they are often born on the same day. Officially, however, they are not twins.
Twins are either identical – when an egg divides in two after fertilization.
Meanwhile, non-identical twins appear when two separate eggs are released from the ovary at the same time, fertilized by different sperm and implanted in the womb.
“I really felt very happy and also scared about the miscarriage. It was pretty awful all my pregnancy not knowing if that would be the result again.
“Hoping for the best, but knowing that there is always the possibility that things are not going according to plan.
“In the month we got pregnant – and even before we found out I was pregnant with two babies – Antonio and I went to the park to train.
“He was shooting with basketball and he said, ‘Well, if I shoot this basket and I succeed, you have twins. Just kidding”.
“And he did, and I said to myself, ‘Haha, very funny.’
Odalis went for her first ultrasound on her own because 31-year-old Antonio had to wait outside due to Covid regulations.
Odalis said, “I was so scared they would say, ‘Oh, no heartbeat,’ so I was so worried the whole time I was texting Antonio, ‘I’m so scared.’
“The doctor is coming and I am trying to prepare mentally for everything and when she found the first baby and the pulse, I cried with so much happiness.
“And then she started spinning back and forth and I was wondering why – my mind just went into the worst case scenario because of the traumatic experience we had.
“Then she told me she had found another baby who also had a palpitation.
“I was just crying with happiness. I had the feeling that the first baby we lost was in the room with me and he said he would be fine.
“When you go for the first ultrasound, they check everything around the day you actually conceived the baby, and then she told me they were conceived five days apart, which I didn’t even know could happen.”
The exact date of conception can be determined by looking at the size of the fetus and comparing it to the same growth pattern in other pregnancies.
The fetus grows quickly, which is how ultrasound can determine how old it is and how a specialist could tell that Imelda and Lilo were not conceived at the same time.
The mother of two said her due date was set in the middle – two days after one baby was about to turn 40, and two days before the other – 40 weeks.
The babies arrived on August 10, 2021, and Lilo, who was conceived first, was also born first, weighing 6lbs 12oz. This was followed by Imelda weighing 7lbs 3oz.
Odalis said: “I feel like it’s a miracle that I went through this double pregnancy. Due to our first experience, it made everything during this pregnancy feel very special and magical.
“How easily I managed to get pregnant and knowing that I had two babies, I just had the feeling that there is so much light after such a dark place. That was the best surprise.
“It was a really beautiful moment to finally be able to hold them in my arms.
“When I held them and knew they were fine, I couldn’t even explain how I felt. I love my family and my husband, but I just had never experienced love and happiness like this.
sister sister! Lilo and Imelda are inseparable. They are literally one in a million, with only a handful of superfetations recorded in medical history
Double the love! The two sisters fill their parents with joy. Odalis admits that it is easier to tell people that they are twins than to explain that she became pregnant while she was already pregnant
Partners in crime! Odalis admits she was afraid to be told she had had a miscarriage when she had her first ultrasound
The sisters are so similar that Father Antonio admits that he sometimes confuses them. But Odalis knows how to tell them apart
The 25-year-old mother of two at home on the left and in Paris on the right said her two daughters brought “light after such a dark place”
The babies arrived on August 10, 2021, and Lilo, who was conceived first, was also born first, weighing 6lbs 12oz. This was followed by Imelda weighing 7lbs 3oz. They are already happy at six months