In an extraordinary medical event, a woman in the United States with the uncommon condition of having two uteruses gave birth on two consecutive days, marking a rare “one in a million” pregnancy that involved 20 hours of labor.
Kelsey Hatcher, aged 32, experienced the unique joy of welcoming a daughter on Tuesday, followed by the birth of another daughter on Wednesday, both at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital.
Celebrating this remarkable occurrence, Ms. Hatcher took to social media to announce the birth of her “miracle babies,” praising the medical team for their outstanding work.
The newborns are fraternal twins, uniquely born on different days, a rarity in itself.
Following the unexpected but joyous events, Ms. Hatcher shared that her family had returned home, ready to celebrate the holiday season. Initially, she had anticipated a Christmas delivery.
A UAB obstetrician spoke about the uniqueness of this case, noting that such events are so rare that many in the field may never encounter them in their entire careers.
Diagnosed with a double uterus, known medically as uterus didelphys, at the age of 17, Ms. Hatcher was part of a small group, as this condition affects only 0.3% of women.
Becoming pregnant in both uteruses simultaneously, known as a dicavitary pregnancy, is an even more extraordinary occurrence, with the UAB citing the odds as “one in a million.”
Instances like these are exceedingly rare worldwide. In a similar case reported in 2019, a woman in Bangladesh gave birth to twins almost a month after having a premature baby, a story shared with the BBC by a local doctor.
Prior to this remarkable pregnancy, Ms. Hatcher had three healthy pregnancies. This time, she initially believed she was pregnant in just one uterus until a routine ultrasound unexpectedly revealed a second baby in the other uterus.
“I gasped… We just could not believe it,” she recalled.
She went on to document her unusual journey on Instagram. One update at 38 weeks asked: “What the heck?! HOW have we made it this far?!”
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) characterized Ms. Hatcher’s pregnancy as standard, despite its unique nature.
Professor Richard Davis, who supervised the birth, noted that each infant benefited from having its own uterus, providing ample room for growth and development, a contrast to normal twin pregnancies.
Ms. Hatcher’s labor, initiated at 39 weeks, necessitated heightened vigilance and documentation in the hospital, including increased staff involvement.
Dr. Shweta Patel from UAB’s obstetrics and gynecology department remarked that this aspect was the most unconventional in Ms. Hatcher’s situation.
According to Dr. Patel, the medical team had limited specific guidelines or data to reference, compelling them to rely on their general expertise in standard pregnancies.
She confirmed that the babies truly possessed a “mind of their own” and were born using distinct techniques.
On December 19, at approximately 19:45 local time, Roxi was born vaginally. Over ten hours later, Rebel, the second, arrived via C-section.
According to Prof. Davis, the girls might be referred to as fraternal twins, a term that describes babies that are created from individual eggs that are fertilized by individual sperm.
“At the end of the day, it was two babies in one belly at the same time,” he said. “They just had different apartments.”