An Alabama mother with a rare double uterus has delivered a set of twins, the hospital treating her announced on Friday.
In what doctors are calling a “one-in-a-million” pregnancy, 32-year-old Kelsey Hatcher delivered a set of twin daughters, one of whom was in each womb, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) hospital.
Hatcher – after 20 hours of labor – gave birth to Roxi Layla on Tuesday and her second daughter, Rebel Laken, on Wednesday, she announced on Instagram.
“Never in our wildest dreams could we have planned a pregnancy and birth like this … but bringing our two healthy baby girls into this world safely was always the goal, and UAB helped us accomplish that,” Hatcher said in the hospital’s press release.
“It seems appropriate that they had two birthdays, though. They both had their own ‘houses’, and now both have their own unique birth stories,” she said.
Hatcher was first diagnosed with uterus didelphys, or a double uterus, at the age of 17. The condition is a rare uterine anomaly seen in only 0.3% of women.
The latest delivery is Hatcher’s fourth pregnancy. She has previously delivered babies from one uterus at a time only.
Weeks into this latest pregnancy, Kelsey noticed bleeding and made an appointment for an ultrasound, as those with double uteruses have higher rates of miscarriages.
During the appointment, doctors discovered Hatcher had an additional fetus forming in her left uterus.
“As soon as she moved the wand to the other uterus, I gasped,” Hatcher said in the hospital press release. “Sure enough, there was another baby. We just could not believe it.”
Hatcher told NBC News in November that her husband, Caleb, almost did not believe her, given the rareness of her pregnancy.
“He said: ‘You’re lying.’ I said: ‘No, I’m not,’” Hatcher remarked to NBC.
Hatcher’s team described her pregnancy as “routine” except for a few additional appointments and a birth plan to forecast all possibilities in the delivery.
Hatcher’s labor was ultimately induced at 39 weeks. When she arrived at UAB on 19 December, she was already dilated 4cm in her right cervix and 3cm in her left.
Hatcher required “twice the monitoring and charting” given her double uteruses – and twice the amount of hospital staff.
After hours of labor, Hatcher delivered Roxi Layla vaginally, and delivered Rebel Laken via C-section the next day.
“After such a long and crazy journey, it meant the world to see both of my girls together for the first time,” Hatcher said.
