For most women, one baby is all we can imagine or handle. Multiples are rare enough to attract all kinds of attention, and if there are more than two, heads really start turning. Anything more than three and you’re likely to get your own TV special. Some multiples are conceived naturally and many are born as a result of infertility treatments. Sometimes, however, twins are not twins at all. Imagine getting pregnant twice in a row just one week apart. That is what happened to one mom in Murray, Utah. Angie Cromar has two uteruses, with a baby in each, about a week apart in gestational age, according to newspapers. She is about halfway through her pregnancy. Her babies will probably be identified as twins, even if they are technically just siblings because they each have their own womb.
A double uterus is a very rare condition known as uterus didelphys, which occurs in a very small percentage of women. Many women do not even find out they have this condition until they are pregnant. It can cause complications like repeated miscarriages or premature labor. For Angie, who is a labor and delivery nurse herself, the risks are clear. The babies are at risk for low birth weight and preterm birth. The first thought that came to my mind when reading this story was how the birth of one baby would affect the other. Since they are in separate uteruses, how will the contractions of one uterus put a strain on the other? Will doctors attempt to deliver both babies at the same time? It is possible to deliver babies separately at different times. For example, there have been times where a woman gave birth to one twin prematurely, but they are able to stop the second twin from being born until they were more developed. I remember reading once case where the twins were delivered a month apart. I can’t imagine having to deliver a second time at four weeks postpartum. Talk about pain!