Two uteri, two cervixes, two fetuses: this extremely rare condition has become reality for an Alabama woman.
As reported by local outlet WVTM 13, Kelsey Hatcher and her husband, Caleb, learned that they were expecting in the spring, when Kelsey was told that she was carrying a baby in each of her uteri during her first ultrasound appointment.
“I said, ‘Well, there’s two of them in there.’ And [my husband] said, ‘You’re lying.’ I said, ‘No, I’m not,’ ” Kelsey told WVTM 13.
She and Caleb are already parents to three children — ages 7, 4 and 2 — and her due date for the new additions, both girls, is later this year on Christmas Day.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a double uterus is a rare condition that is “present at birth” in some women, and occurs when the two small tubes that typically grow and join together to form the uterus as the fetus grows, instead “don’t join completely” and “each one develops into a separate organ.” Though each separate uterus may have its own cervix — the opening into the vagina — “in other cases, each uterus has its own cervix.”
Speaking with WVTM 13, OB/GYN Dr. Shweta Patel told the outlet that Kelsey’s pregnancy situation is “Very, very rare.”
“Yes. OB/GYNs go their whole careers without seeing anything like this,” Patel added.
UAB Dr. Richard Davis, who specializes in high-risk pregnancies, also spoke with WVTM 13, explaining that “maybe three per 1,000 women might” have a double cervix or double uteruses.
“And then the probability of you having a twin in each horn is really crazy,” Davis added.
According to Davis, the delivery of the babies will be very complicated and when the time comes, Kelsey will have to be closely monitored.
“When she goes into labor, if she does, then we will have to monitor each uterus and see which one’s contracting and if they’re doing sort of almost the same, or they’re different,” he told WVTM 13.
Patel also explained to the outlet that because Kelsey’s circumstances are so rare, doctors don’t have an official medical term for referring to the two babies.
“I think medically, this is such a rare thing, that I think we don’t have a better way of describing it besides still calling them twins,” she said.
And while Kelsey is excited about the new additions, she and Caleb are sure that the two babies will be their final pregnancy. “The third one was our last one. [And] though we’re grateful for the blessings for sure … this will definitely be the end,” she said.
