Is It Possible to.get Pregant Again While Pregnant

Surprise conception: Woman conceives second child while carrying first

Updated 2305 GMT (0705 HKT) April 16, 2021

(CNN)At first, baby Noah was all alone, growing beatifically in his mother's womb.

Noah'south offset close-ups, taken by ultrasound at vii and 10 weeks into the pregnancy, showed 39-year-old mom Rebecca Roberts and 43-year-old dad Rhys Weaver the baby they had tried for more than a twelvemonth to conceive.

And so, at three months into the pregnancy, Noah suddenly had company.

An ultrasound taken at week 12 showed that Noah had an unexpected little sister -- fraternal twin Rosalie.

"I got significant whilst I was already meaning, which was absolutely crazy ... because that'southward non supposed to happen," Rebecca said.

Called a superfetation, getting pregnant while already conveying a baby is so rare that one 2008 written report found fewer than 10 recorded cases in the world.

Doctors told the couple the babies were actually conceived well-nigh three weeks autonomously, Rebecca said.

"They realized that the baby was growing at a consistent rate of iii weeks behind the first one, and it was then that they said to me, they think this is a superfetation pregnancy," she said.

"I couldn't believe it had happened to me," Rebecca added with a laugh. "But it did -- it's lovely. Information technology'south like winning the lottery."

Dad felt the aforementioned: "I was elated to be having one child, but fifty-fifty more so for twins. The job is washed in one go! And so Rebecca did some inquiry, and nosotros realized how unique and how lucky we were."

An incredibly rare outcome

Superfetations are rare for a variety of reasons, said Atlanta gynecologist Dr. Lillian Schapiro.

First, women typically ovulate only in one case per wheel, releasing one or more than eggs simultaneously. If fertilization by the man's sperm is successful, the egg or eggs then implant in the uterus, the pregnancy begins and no further ovulation occurs.

"If a woman has twins," Schapiro said, "two eggs are released at the same time. And in the unusual case of triplets, those eggs are all released with one ovulation." Identical twins happen if a freshly fertilized egg splits.

In Rebecca'south instance, the egg was fertilized and implanted during the first ovulation, and "somehow she ovulated once more during that same cycle," Schapiro explained. "Another egg was also fertilized -- became another embryo -- and at unlike times both embryos implanted in the uterus."

Another reason superfetations are exceptional, Schapiro said, is that once the pregnancy begins, the uterus is no longer a hospitable identify for implantation. That means the second embryo "must have managed to implant and grow at a phase when nosotros would not take thought information technology would exist able to grow."

"We accept near never seen where two embryos commencement developing at different times," Schapiro said. "That is just zip brusk of amazing."

Rebecca had just taken ane dose of fertility drugs designed to stimulate ovulation before she conceived Noah. While that may be i reason for this rare occurrence, Rebecca said, it could also just exist a "medical marvel."

'Tiny, tiny infant'

At kickoff Rebecca and Rhys fretted over baby Rosalie's evolution in the womb, worried that being so far backside her bigger brother might affect her health at nativity.

"It could go either way," Rebecca said. "Because the infant is and so much smaller, in that location could be something incorrect with it and it might not survive. That's usually the case.

"But they said this baby's actually growing consistently," she said. "It was a relief. It was a slap-up relief."

Built-in by cesarean in September 2020, both babies did accept to spend time in carve up neonatal intensive care units (NICU). Rosalie, who was built-in at a tiny two pounds, vii ounces, was sent to a specialty NICU about 15 minutes away from the NICU that cared for Noah, who was built-in at iv pounds, 10 ounces.

"She was a tiny, tiny footling babe just fitting in our hands, and even though he was tiny, yous could see that he was a much bigger babe," Rebecca said.

"It was very hard. I had a major operation and then our babies were in two separate hospitals equally well," she said. "And so it was really hard piece of work having to travel between them both."

Noah was able to come habitation in 3 weeks, merely little Rosalie remained in intensive care for 95 days, coming home simply before Christmas.

Today, at close to vii months old, Noah is even so ahead of Rosalie, merely Rhys said, "She's a little trooper. She's got her own little personality, simply I take no real worries at all."

Noah's rolled over and is "really showing signs of trying to crawl, so he might be off soon, which will be fun," Rebecca added.

"They're both talking, which is really really sweetness, because they talk to each other. It'south lovely. They collaborate with each other really, really well. It's cute to watch."

CNN'south Elizabeth Cohen and Justin Lape contributed to this story.

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Source: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/16/health/woman-pregnant-while-pregnant-wellness/index.html

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