In the kingdom of strange pregnancies, it is difficult to overcome a scenario that could have come directly from an episode of I didn’t know she was pregnant. But this deserves an honorable mention: a woman who conceived a baby while pregnant, only to give birth to “twins” with two different due dates.
It’s the kind of thing you’re told doesn’t just happen, but it happened to Rebecca Roberts, 39, who was struggling with infertility for more than a year before she finally got pregnant. She and her partner were very happy with the first ultrasound appointment, but the second was unexpected. He Washington Post reports that the English couple were surprised when on the 12th-the weekly ultrasound appointment showed that Roberts was carrying another, less developed baby.
From Washington Post, our emphasis:
But Roberts knew this was not a typical set of twins. Her pregnancy was diagnosed as superfluous, a rare condition in which a woman who is already pregnant gives birth to another baby.
Roberts’ pregnancy is one of the few cases of overeating recorded in the medical literature, said her obstetrician, David Walker.
In fact, superfetation is so rare that Walker struggled to diagnose it at first. In her 25 years as an obstetrician, it was something she had never seen.
“It just doesn’t happen,” Walker said, adding that they needed several scans before they could confidently diagnose the disease.
[…]
Usually, hormonal and physical changes during pregnancy prevent another conception from occurring. That was not the case with Roberts.
“Instead of stopping ovulation, she released another egg about three or four weeks after the first, and the egg somehow miraculously managed to fertilize and implant in the uterus,” he said. dir Walker.
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The extra baby was a welcome surprise, but the complications that accompanied it were not. Superfection is uncommon and the younger twin usually does not.
After 33 weeks of pregnancy, the umbilical cord of the youngest twin did not work and a cesarean section was performed to avoid other obstructions. Thus, on September 17, Roberts gave birth to Noah — the biggest and biggest twin — and Rosalie — the youngest, youngest surprise twin. The twins were kept in a neonatal intensive care unit, Noah for three weeks, and Rosalie for 95 days. But now, the twins have been home for several months and are happy and healthy.
And, yes, the age difference is obvious. Check out this recent Instagram post with the twins:
As the couple told the Publication:
“Even though they were born on the same day, there is certainly an age difference between them,” [Roberts] added. “It’s noticeable.”
Rosalie is still much younger and less advanced than her brother, “but she’s catching up quickly,” he said. [Rhys] Weaver, mortgage advisor.
Bodies, man.