An unusual story happened in the UK. 39-year-old Briton Rebecca Roberts gave birth to twins. And the doctors found out that the brother and sister were conceived at different times.
Rebecca knew she was carrying twins: a boy and a girl. She monitored her health and regularly visited a gynecologist. At the first ultrasound, the specialist found only one fetus in the uterus, but later a second one was noticed. This happens if ultrasound is performed in the early stages. But in Rebecca’s case, the reason was something else.
The twins were born in September 2020. The boy Noah at birth weighed about two kilograms, and his tiny sister Rosalie weighed only 1.2 kilograms. A large difference in weight occurs in multiple pregnancies, but usually does not exceed 300-500 grams.
The twins surprised all the doctors: the boy looked clearly older and more developed than the girl. After a thorough examination, as well as studying the results of diagnostic procedures carried out during pregnancy, it turned out that Rosalie is really younger than Noah: she was conceived three weeks after her brother’s conception.
This phenomenon of an amazing double pregnancy is called superfetation and occurs extremely rarely. Rebecca’s case is the fourteenth on the entire planet. Some experts are skeptical about this, but the fact remains. The woman’s doctor suggested that superfetation is caused by taking medications prescribed for infertility. Roberts took them for successful fertilization, which is why even after the onset of the first successful pregnancy, eggs continued to mature in her ovaries. One of the female germ cells connected with the sperm, and conception took place.
The kids stayed in the clinic almost until Christmas due to insufficient weight, but then they were safely discharged home, where their older 14-year-old sister Summer was waiting for them. The twins feel great and are growing rapidly.
