Kelsey Hatcher, a 32-year-old mom of three was born with a rare uterine anomaly called uterus didelphys, or two uteruses. However, she was not diagnosed with the condition until last spring, when she discovered she was pregnant – in each uterus.
Hatcher said her husband almost didn’t believe her.
“He said: ‘You’re lying,’ I said: ‘No, I’m not,” Hatcher told NBC News.
Uterus didelphys affects about 0.3% of women. The abnormality forms in the female embryo very early in development, around eight weeks gestation, according to fertility researchers.
For med school students who waste time here. A question.
These are not technically twins, right?
Not a med school student but fraternal twins come from 2 separate zygotes - 2 different eggs and 2 different sperm cells. If you disregard the whole ‘two uteri’ aspect they’d be twins, fraternal twins, dizygotic. It’s all two eggs being fertilized at the same time, right?
What happens if the pregnancies were, say, 5 months apart? What kind of complications would there be?
A natural birth consists of a bunch of hormonal changes that initiate the process (similar to a medically induced abortion); I’d be super surprised if the younger fetus doesn’t abort when the older one is birthed on time.
That does not necessarily preclude the younger child’s survival after delivering the older child via C-section though. Presumably if the aim was survival of both fetuses that would be the route taken?
I’d be more curious how that second pregnancy even happened though. AFAIK a natural conception isn’t usually possible during pregnancy because no eggs are released. It might be possible via IVF or something, but who would you take that risk?
If they went that route, they’d probably have to block the hormonal pathway associated with labor induction anyway (because as the older fetus ages it will start that cascade toward the end of the pregnancy). Theoretically, I bet you could deliver the oldest with a c-section followed by another’s few months later, but you’re really putting the mother’s life at risk because the healing time between c-sections being 6 weeks at minimum. Continuing the second pregnancy for another 5 months could cause internal bleeding.
Pregnancy hormone HCG caused ovulation to stop its normal cycle. Essentially, their are either the same age or the first pregnancy already ended and needs to be removed, but due to complications the younger embryo probably won’t make it either.
According to the article, they didn’t need to be but likely were. Makes sense, thanks.
Though would they end up being delivered at the same time?
Basically, they are only twins if they are born on the same day, because the concept of fraternal twins is basically being born from the same woman on the same day. Identical twins with the split egg after insemination are the only real “twins” biologically (except clones, generally illegal). There’s also roman twins, but those are pretty rare, because it involves a woman releasing two eggs but having intercourse with two different men in a roughly 48 hour time period, resulting in half brother fraternal twins.