In a remarkable and exceedingly rare medical occurrence, a 32-year-old woman with a double uterus has given birth to twins on separate days after a "one in a million" pregnancy.
As reported by BBC News, Kelsey Hatcher delivered her "miracle babies" at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Hospital, where she praised the medical team as "incredible."
The infants are fraternal twins, each with its unique birthday, an unusual and uncommon phenomenon. Hatcher and her family are now back home, able to celebrate the holidays together.
Sharing news of the incredible deliveries on its Facebook page, a spokesperson for the UAB wrote: "The story of these babies is nothing short of amazing, and we consider ourselves fortunate to be able to share it. Congratulations to Kelsey Hatcher on the arrival of her beautiful daughters – one from each uterus.
"You read that correctly. Having a double uterus is rare, and getting pregnant in each at the same time makes it exceedingly so.
Kelsey has embarked on an incredible journey with the team at UAB, and we're wishing her and her family double the joy and double the love this holiday season."
A double uterus - known as uterus didelphys - is a rare congenital anomaly affecting only 0.3% of women, as reported by the UAB. The chances of a dicavitary pregnancy - where a woman becomes pregnant in both uteri - are even slimmer at "one in a million".
Global reported cases of such pregnancies are exceptionally rare. In 2019, a doctor in Bangladesh reported a case of a woman giving birth to twins nearly a month after delivering a premature baby from her other uterus.
Hatcher was just 17 when she was informed by doctors about her double uterus.
When she first learned she was pregnant, she believed she was only expecting one baby in one uterus. That was, until a routine ultrasound unveiled the presence of a second baby in her second uterus, leaving her and her family astounded.
Labor was induced at 39 weeks, necessitating doubled monitoring and staffing at the hospital, along with increased charting. The first baby was delivered vaginally around 7:45PM local time on December 19, followed by the second baby delivered via C-section more than 10 hours later, at approximately 6:10AM the following morning.
She chronicled her unique journey on Instagram, marveling at her pregnancy's progress and posting updates along the way.
In her most recent post, she writes: "Our miracle babies were born! They decided they were rare enough statistically that they should just go ahead and have their own birthdays too. Roxi Layla was born Tuesday night 12/19 at 7:49pm and was joined by her sister, Rebel Laken, Wednesday morning 12/20 at 6:09am.
"Our team at UAB was incredible and we couldn’t have had a better experience! I can’t wait to share the entire birth story with you guys! While we are all home now, we will take the time bond, recover, and enjoy the holidays!"
Hatcher's pregnancy was considered routine by the UAB - with the mom only having to attend a few extra appointments. Professor Richard Davis, who co-managed the delivery, highlighted that each baby had ample space to grow and develop due to each one having a womb to itself, a distinct characteristic in contrast to typical twin pregnancies.
Professor Davis explained that the infants could be classified as fraternal twins, as each one developed from a separate egg, fertilized by a distinct sperm. He emphasized that they were "two babies in one belly at the same time" who simply had "different apartments."
Hatcher's extraordinary pregnancy journey is truly a testament to human biology's remarkable complexities!
