“Miracle of Life: How One Woman’s Extraordinary Dual Pregnancy Led to a Rare Set of Twins!”
In Rebecca’s case, she and Rhys conceived a second child three weeks after conceiving their first. The reason superfetation is so uncommon is that the hormones that are released during the first pregnancy typically prevent another from occurring. It is more common among women who undergo IVF, but there are still only a few confirmed cases.
An Extraordinary Pregnancy
Dr. Walker told Good Morning America that he was relieved to find out that it wasn’t his error that led to them finding out three months in that Rebecca was carrying two.
At the same time, he marveled at the extraordinary pregnancy, having never experienced a case of superfetation in his decades of practice. Rebecca was even more beside herself. She told Today that she was shaking so much that she nearly collapsed to the floor!
Was It The Fertility Drugs?
Dr. Walker explained that the fertility drugs that Rebecca was taking tend to cause the body to release two eggs at once. It would make sense that this could have occurred and one was fertilized separately from the other.
However, he isn’t convinced that was the case since there’s no way of proving that both eggs were released simultaneously. Plus, three weeks apart is a significant amount of time, especially given the hormonal changes that occur in early pregnancy.
Needing To Be Extra Careful
Pregnancies involving multiple babies have to be more closely monitored because they’re higher risk. This was especially true with Rebecca’s case of superfetation because the fetuses were so far apart in development.
According to Reuters, twin pregnancies are 10 times more likely to result in premature births before 32 weeks than singletons. Since the younger baby was already three weeks behind, it would be vital to elongate the pregnancy as long as possible for safety.
Everything Was Going Well Until…
As the months passed, Rebecca was happy to see that her pregnancy was moving along well. Dr. Walker knew all of the risks and intricacies involved, so he kept a close eye and held off on the idea of inducing labor for as long as possible.
Then something happened that required them to act fast. As Dr. Walker continued to watch the twins grow, he noticed that the younger one had seemed to plateau in her progress.
An Umbilical Cord Issue
After realizing that the younger twin was no longer growing as she should be, Dr. Walker did some investigating. He discovered that there was an issue with the umbilical cord that was attached to the younger twin.
As a result, she wasn’t getting the necessary nutrients to continue developing. Fortunately, Rebecca was already at 33 weeks. While it was still a little early, enough time had passed to safety induce labor. It was time for Rebecca to meet her twins!
Meeting Noah And Rosalie
Though Rebecca was initially due in October, she arrived at the hospital in September so they could induce labor and bring out the twins! The older one was a boy, who Rebecca named Noah.
The younger baby was a girl named Rosalie. Noah weighed in at 4 pounds and 10 ounces, while little Rosalie was 2 pounds and 7 ounces. It was definitely clear from the start that Noah was the big brother to tiny Rosalie.
Needing Special Care
Though Noah looked quite robust compared to his little sister, he was born prematurely and needed to spend some time in the neonatal intensive care unit. Rosalie was almost half the size of her preemie brother and needed to go to a special hospital.
Seeing the twins split up was hard on Rebecca. She told Today, “It broke my heart when they were separated.” Even more heart-wrenching was that Rosalie had to spend 95 days in the hospital before coming home.
Reunited And It Feels So Good!
While Rebecca’s pregnancy and the months after giving birth were full of ups and downs, it was all well worth the rollercoaster ride of a journey. Noah and Rosalie did well with their special care and were at last able to reunite at home.
Rebecca told Today, “I remember holding both of them at the same time when they were reunited and thinking, ‘This is a milestone in itself.'” The twins were definitely happy to be back together, too.
Inseparable Siblings
Though the twins are from a different egg, they still share a unique bond from being in the womb together. Rebecca shared that the twins love to hold hands and touch one another’s faces.
