A mother with a rare double uterus has given birth to two babies on two separate days in a "one in a million" phenomenon.
Kelsey Hatcher, from Alabama, wowed staff at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital as she gave birth to two girls - one on December 19 and one on December 20 - after 20 combined hours of labour.
"Never in our wildest dreams could we have planned a pregnancy and birth like this," Ms Hatcher told the hospital.
"It seems appropriate that they had two birthdays, though. They both had their own ‘houses,’ and now both have their own unique birth stories."
When Ms Hatcher was 17 she was diagnosed with a double uterus - a rare congenital anomaly that occurs in 0.3 per cent of women. She also has two cervices.
A few weeks into her fourth pregnancy, the mother noticed some bleeding.
Since women with a double uterus are at a higher risk of miscarriage, she made an appointment for her first ultrasound.
"As soon as she moved the wand to the other uterus, I gasped," she recalled. "Sure enough, there was another baby. We just could not believe it."
While it is not as uncommon for women with a double uterus to have a pregnancy with one baby in one uterus, having a baby in both is an estimated one-in-a-million chance.
"With Kelsey’s babies, they each had their own womb, sac, placenta and umbilical cord, allowing them extra space to grow and develop," Richard Davis, professor in the UAB Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, said.
Since she had two uteri, Ms Hatcher required twice the monitoring and charting, and was assigned two labour and delivery nurses to monitor each uterus and baby.
"There was a cheer from everyone in the room when the first baby was delivered, but there was another baby left," Ms Hatcher's obstetrician, Shweta Patel, said.
"Kelsey was essentially laboring in the left uterus while simultaneously undergoing the postpartum process in the right. She was having contractions with Baby B while breastfeeding Baby A."
A little over 10 hours after her sister was born, Baby B, named Rebel, was delivered via c-section on December 20.
"After such a long and crazy journey, it meant the world to see both of my girls together for the first time," Ms Hatcher said.
A typical twin pregnancy is defined by two babies in one uterus during the same pregnancy. While Kelsey had one baby in each uterus, two eggs were released that were fertilised during the same ovulation cycle.
"I think it is safe to call the girls fraternal twins," Mr Davis said.
"At the end of the day, it was two babies in one belly at the same time. They just had different apartments."
