With two uteruses, she gives birth to twins one day apart

We talked about it a little over a month ago in Doctissimo. In Alabama, Kelsey Hatcher, a 32-year-old American mother of three, was pregnant with twins. A classic situation in a large family? Not really, since the young woman has two uteruses and a baby was growing in each of them, an extremely rare case. The babies, two little girls expected for Christmas Day, finally showed up on December 19 and 20. Or one day difference.

Having two uteruses, an anomaly that affects 2% of women

Kelsey Hatcher thus has what is called didelphus uterus (formerly bicornuate uterus), a rare malformation of the uterus which however affects 2% of women. Anatomically, the didelphus uterus is in double form, therefore two uteri.

The anomaly originates during fetal development: when the female genital tract is still in the form of tubes called Müllerian ducts. These must then fuse to form the uterus, cervix and vagina. It happens that fusion does not take place well, the uterus then retains a double shape and the woman will also sometimes have two vaginas. The didelphous uterus is usually identified through an ultrasound or x-ray of the uterus (hysterography), but can go unnoticed for years.

The American mother had known about her condition since she was 17. But she had since been able to carry three pregnancies… with only one baby.

A double pregnancy experienced well by the mother

Having two uteruses is already an anomaly. But carrying two children simultaneously is a case “very very rare, on the order of one chance in 1 million”, according to Dr. Richard Davis, the mother’s doctor. However, despite a closely monitored pregnancy, Kelsey Hatcher claims to have experienced a routine pregnancy… multiplied by two! An ultimately logical phenomenon.

As Dr. Harris explains, a twin pregnancy could leave twins with limited space because they share a uterus, which can increase the risk of premature birth. “But with Kelsey’s babies, they each had their own uterus, sac, placenta and umbilical cord, which allowed them more room to grow and develop.”he added.

Two distinct birthday dates too

The story thus ended on December 19 and 20, a few days before Christmas, with the successful birth of the two babies 10 hours apart at the Birmingham hospital in Alabama. A strong moment for the parental couple.

“Never in our wildest dreams could we have planned a pregnancy and delivery like this, but delivering our two healthy little girls safely has always been the goal, and UAB helped us achieve this”

As for the separate dates, the happy mother takes this as a sign: “It seems fitting that they have two birthdays. They both had their own ‘houses,’ and now both have their own birth stories.”she added.

Several stories of double uteruses have made the headlines, some of which report births spaced several months apart: