English woman gives birth to 'twins' conceived 3 weeks apart
What's the story
A 39-year-old woman from Wiltshire, England took all by surprise when she revealed on the show Good Morning America that she gave birth to twins that were conceived three weeks apart. "It was really, really shocking to be told there were two babies instead of one," said Rebecca Roberts, the mother. Both premature 'twins' are healthy and are now six months old.
Revelation
Doctors discovered a second baby during Roberts's third ultrasound
Roberts, along with her partner Rhys Weaver, was trying to get pregnant for several years and was on fertility medication for the same. "We wanted a baby and we were trying for ages to have one and we couldn't get pregnant," she added. Not only did Roberts eventually conceive, their thrill turned to a shock when doctors discovered another baby during her third ultrasound.
Ob-gyn's reaction
'It was not my mistake but a quite extraordinary pregnancy'
That startling USG happened during Roberts's 12-week gestation. Her obstetrician-gynecologist, Dr. David Walker at the Royal United Hospital, Bath, was just as shocked as her after seeing the scan result. "How had I missed the second twin (in the previous tests)," was his initial reaction, but he soon realized that "it was not my mistake but a quite extraordinary pregnancy, (sic)" Dr. Walker said.
Superfetation
What led to the babies being born together?
This "extraordinary pregnancy" is due to superfetation. It is a rare occurrence when an egg is released from a woman's ovary after she could be already pregnant, and implanted alongside the first embryo in the uterus sometime later. That is what led to the two babies being born at the same time in Roberts's case, even though they were conceived three weeks apart.
Social media
The babies are already Instagram stars, courtesy their mother
Roberts has been documenting her magical experience with twins, Noah and Rosalie, on Instagram account @roberts.supertwins. Rosalie spent 95 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), while Noah spent over three weeks at a different NICU. "They're my super twins. Every day I look at them and think, 'Wow, I'm so lucky'," Roberts, whose story has gone viral on social media, said.