In a very rare incident, a woman from California, US gave birth twice in six months. The video of the woman went viral over the internet.
According to the reports, the woman is identified as Jessica, a hairstylist in California, US gave birth to two children, a 1-year-old and a 6-month-old. Jessica herself has explained the reason behind the incident. She said that it happened through the process of superfetation.
Superfetation is a process through which a woman can become pregnant again if she is already pregnant. Superfetation is an extremely rare medical condition in which two babies are born in the same uterus at separate times and both will have different levels of development. The superficial babies are technically twins, but they have a different timeline and ways of growing.
Jessica said that she was unaware of having two pregnancies, she got to know about her two pregnancies only after the proper tests that were performed by the medical professionals in the initial months.
Based on the reports, superfetation is a rare condition, and till now only 10 confirmed cases of superfetation across the world and Jessica is the 11th case.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Superfetation is an extremely rare event that implicates getting pregnant while you are already pregnant. A woman's body goes through changes that make it nearly impossible for her to become pregnant while a fertilized egg is already growing inside the uterus. Through the process of superfetation, a new pregnancy bypasses the body’s natural barriers that prevent a new pregnancy while a woman is pregnant.
The superficial twins don't form during the same menstrual cycle. As a result, they are of different gestational ages. The embryo that was conceived first will develop ahead of the embryo that was conceived second.
The superfetation process is more common in other species, including rodents, small mammals, and fish.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Lavanya Beeraboina/MSM)
