Fraternal Twins Delivered From Mother With Two Uteruses

Two babies. Two uteruses. One mom.

That's right, these babies are fraternal twins -- born of the same mother. Mom has two uteruses (or uteri) and conceived naturally and carried one in each.

According to a release from Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, Florida, the timing for this type of pregnancy had to be just right -- two eggs released and fertilized at the same time. The odds of this doctors estimated were one in 5 million:

There have only been about 100 known cases worldwide of women with uterus didelphys being pregnant in both uteruses at the same time.

[...]

Although this rare condition can cause infertility, miscarriage, or premature birth for many women, [Andreea] Barbosa delivered her healthy baby boy and girl at 36 weeks by cesarean section.

The St. Petersburg Times reports OBGYN Dr. Patricia St. John as saying that the condition Barbosa had -- uterus didelphys -- only affects one in every 2,000 women. Women with the condition develop both uteruses with fallopian tubes connected to each before they are born:

"It was definitely a shocker," said the 24-year-old Clearwater mother, who learned about her unusual double pregnancy during an ultrasound at seven weeks. "I was frightened and scared — a little bit of everything in one."

Barbosa didn't learn about the condition until she was getting a cyst removed, before she had conceived any children. She first conceived one child in her right uterus -- now two years old. St. John at the time of this earlier pregnancy saw that Barbosa's left uterus was smaller and thought the risk of a double-pregnancy was even more unlikely that she didn't bring it up.

The St. Petersburg Times reports Barbosa as saying she's not taking any changes with her unique reproductive odds. "I can't risk having three next time," she said.

It's not out of the realm of possibility. BBC reported a mother with two uteruses giving birth to triplets in 2006. A birth such as this is estimated to be one in 25 million.

[H/T CBS News]