There were two for the price of one delivery.
Kelsey Hatcher arrived at the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham last week for her fourth scheduled induction, something that is not uncommon for some pregnant women.
But this labor and delivery would go down in the record books.
Despite having had three previous pregnancies without complications, this time was different. Hatcher, 32, has the rare condition of having a double uterus, each containing a developing baby.
After a combined 20-hour marathon of labor, Hatcher gave birth to two girls in a 10-hour period: one on Dec. 19 and another on Dec. 20, according to the University of Alabama website.
“Never in our wildest dreams could we have planned a pregnancy and birth like this; but bringing our two healthy girls into this world safely was always the goal, and UAB helped us achieve it,” Hatcher said.
Roxi and Rebel Hatcher were born within 10 hours and each was born from one of their mother’s two wombs. Andrea Mabry / UAB Kelsey Hatcher, 32, and her husband, Caleb, were shocked in May when they learned that Kelsey was carrying a baby each in both of her wombs. Kelsey Hatcher/doubleuhatcher/AFP via Getty Images
Diagnosed with uterus didelphys, a rare congenital anomaly that occurs in 0.3 percent of women, Hatcher learned of her condition when she was just 17 years old.
Hatcher discovered bleeding a few weeks into her fourth pregnancy and had a precautionary ultrasound that revealed the two babies, one in each uterus.
The phenomenon is officially known as dual twin pregnancy and occurs in one in a million cases.
Hatcher and her husband welcomed girls Roxi and Rebel, who were born 10 hours apart on December 19. University of Alabama Birmingham/AFP via Getty Images
Hatcher recalled the surprise she and her husband Caleb received when the UAB ultrasound technician showed them her scans.
“As soon as he moved the wand to the other uterus, I gasped,” Hatcher recalled. “Sure enough, there was another baby. “We just couldn’t believe it.”
Kelsey Hatcher holds her daughter Roxi while her husband Caleb Hatcher hugs baby Rebel. University of Alabama at Birmingham/AFP via Getty Images
With so few cases to learn from, doctors weren’t sure how best to deliver the babies, but they eventually agreed to give Hatcher the vaginal delivery she wanted.
She was induced at 39 weeks and medical teams were assigned to both babies. Roxi had a successful vaginal birth. The second baby, Rebel, required a cesarean section.
Kelsey Hatcher holds her twin daughters Roxi Layla (L) and Rebel Laken (R). University of Alabama Birmingham/AFP via Getty Images Rebel, left, and Roxi, right. via UAB
Hatcher’s medical team eventually categorized the babies as fraternal twins, because they came from the fertilization of two eggs during the same ovulation cycle.
“I think it’s safe to call the girls fraternal twins,” said Richard O. Davis, MD, professor in the UAB Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, who co-managed Kelsey’s pregnancy along with her obstetrician, Shweta Patel, MD.
“At the end of the day, it was two babies in the same womb at the same time. “They just had different apartments.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn