Woman with Two Wombs Gives Birth to a Daughter from Each

Sarah Reinfelder, 21, gave birth to twin girls in Marquette, Mich. on February 26, 2009. That alone is nothing too terribly out of the ordinary. However, Reinfelder has a condition known as uterus didelphys. She has a double uterus, or two wombs. Each baby was carried in her own uterus.

Dr. Connie Hedmark explained to The Mining Journal that all women have two wombs while the are fetuses. These two halves are supposed to fuse together before a baby girl is born. This fusion did not happen in Sarah Reinfelder's case and she wound up with two functioning uteri.

Uterus didelphys is extremely rare. According to the Mayo Clinic, researchers are not sure what causes this condition and many women are not even aware they have it.

Most women with a double uterus can go on to have normal pregnancies. Many women don't even realize they have the condition because their symptoms are not noticeable.

Although the condition does not adversely affect most women, some may experience infertility, premature birth, or miscarriage.

As a result of cramped conditions in the two small uteri, it is common for women with two wombs to experience breech births because the baby has less room to maneuver.

Carrying twins in separate wombs is even rarer than the condition itself. There have only been 3 other cases of twins born from double wombs in the past 40 years. The conditions must be just right. Ovulation has to occur at the same time for a woman to become pregnant in more than one uterus.

Sarah told WLUC TV6 that she had given birth to her son, William, only a few months before learning she was pregnant again. She was surprised to learn she was carrying twins.

Both of her uteri are different sizes. The larger twin, Valerie Marie, grew to 4 pounds, 15 ounces within her uterus. Kaylin Joy developed in the smaller uterus and weighed 3 pounds, 15 ounces at birth.

Two caesarian sections were performed on Sarah Reinfelder's two wombs in order to deliver her girls. The twins are 7 weeks premature. They are expected to remain in the hospital for an additional 2 or 3 weeks.

Sarah and her husband, Shane, will certainly have their hands full with a 10 month old son and newborn twin daughters.

"I'm so excited," Sarah Reinfelder told WLUC TV6. "I couldn't sleep at all last night. I was just thinking about the girls and how I was so happy they were healthy because nobody really knew what to expect."

Sources:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/double-uterus/DS00821http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=266665http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/523346.html?nav=5006