Woman With 2 Uteruses Defies Odds by Giving Birth to Twins
A twenty-four-year-old woman with two uteruses gave birth Sept. 15 to healthy twins from each uterus.
Andreea Barbosa gave birth to fraternal twins Nathan and Natalie at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, Florida. Doctors delivered her twins at 36 weeks via Caesarean section.
"I was shocked to learn I had a baby in each uterus," Barbosa said in a statement. "But my husband and I are just so happy that they are here and healthy,” according to the Huffington Post.
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Barbosa has a rare condition called uterus didelphys, or double uterus, where the double uterus has two separate cervices and often a double vagina. The condition is extremely rare and affects about 1 in 2,000 women worldwide.
There have only been 100 similar cases around the world with the most recent case before Barbosa occurring in India in July. A mother in the UK with a double uterus gave birth in 2006 to triplets -- two babies from one uterus and another from the second uterus.
Barbosa's obstetrician, Dr. Patricia St. John, placed the odds of such a pregnancy at 1 in about 5 million because the two eggs had to be released and fertilized at the same time in each uterus, the St. Petersburg Times reported.
"Because we were aware of her condition, we were able to take special precautions to ensure that both mother and babies would be healthy," John said, according to WPTV News Channel 5.
The Barbosa’s have a two-year-old daughter, Izabella, who was conceived in Barbosa's right uterus. The family said the birth of the twins completes their family.
"The first pregnancy I had one, the second I had two," Andreea Barbosa said. "I can't risk having three the next time,” according to the St. Petersburg Times.
Women with uterus didelphys have an increased risk of miscarriage or premature birth. Some women are not even aware they have two uteruses until they receive an ultrasound when they become pregnant.
