Rare case, this woman was pregnant with twins with a difference of 3 weeks

KOMPAS.com – According to a recent report, a woman in the UK had another pregnancy while pregnant.

This is rare cases. When she was 12 weeks pregnant, doctors found another fetus. The gestational age of the two babies is three weeks.

Generally, when a woman becomes pregnant, her body initiates several biological processes aimed at preventing concurrent pregnancy. This includes releasing hormones to stop ovulation.

But in rare cases, a pregnant woman can evolve or release an egg. Not only that, the egg can be fertilized by sperm and implanted in the uterus.

Also read: The increasing number of twin births in the world, what causes it?

The rare phenomenon in which two fertilized eggs are implanted into the uterus at different times is known as superfetation.

According to Good Morning America, in this rare case, the twins were conceived within three weeks.

The mother, Rebecca Roberts (39), became pregnant for the first time last year. She tried to get pregnant for several years and was taking fertility drugs.

Reported Live Science, Thursday (1/4/2021), at 12 weeks of gestation, doctors found a second baby who has a three week difference in age from the first baby. This is known from the ultrasound results.

Because superfetation is so rare, at first the doctors who examined Rebecca were unable to explain the difference in size between the two babies.

“My initial reaction was, maybe I missed the baby’s twin,” said Dr. David Walker, an OB-GYN at Royal United Hospital in Bath.

“And now I’m a little relieved, it’s not my fault (for missing twins), but this is a very extraordinary pregnancy.”

Doctors diagnosed Rebecca as having superfestation.

She was also told that a younger baby might be at risk of not surviving. However, this prediction is in fact incorrect.

When Rebecca was 33 weeks pregnant in September 2021, a team of doctors induced labor because the younger fetus stopped growing because of a problem with the umbilical cord.

To note, induction is a process to stimulate uterine contractions before natural contractions occur. This process aims to speed up the labor process.

The older baby is named Noah. Noah stayed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for three weeks.

Meanwhile, the younger baby, Rosalie, stayed in the NICU for 95 days.

Rebecca’s two babies are now home and in good health.

“When we put the two babies side by side, they kind of knew right away. They reached out and touched each other’s faces, and that was the most beautiful thing,” Rebecca told Good Morning America.

“Twins have a wonderful bond. But my two kids had a more special story when they found out.”

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It is unclear how many cases of superfetation occurred.

Many cases of superfestation may go undetected because of the very close age of the fetus, so they are considered ordinary twins.

According to Healthline, The best known cases of superfetation involve patients using assisted reproductive techniques such as in vitro fertilization.

However, this phenomenon is considered very rare, because there are three separate events that are unlikely to occur, namely:

• Ovulation, usually stopped by pregnancy hormones
• ConceptionIt is usually stopped early in pregnancy when there is a mucus plug, which is a form to stop sperm from passing through the cervix
• Implantation, which requires sufficient space for another embryo in the uterus, as well as hormones that wouldn’t normally be released once a person is pregnant

But in animals such as fish, rabbits and badgers, superfetation is actually common.

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