Woman with 2 Uteruses Gives Birth to a Baby Boy — and Then Twins 26 Days Later

Jen Juneau
Updated
Woman with 2 Uteruses Gives Birth to a Baby Boy — and Then Twins 26 Days Later

A new mom got the surprise of her life when she gave birth to twins just 26 days after delivering her son.

Arifa Sultana welcomed a baby boy in late February. A few weeks later, the 20-year-old Bangladeshi woman “came to the hospital complaining of lower abdominal pain,” Dr. Sheila Poddar, a gynecologist at Dhaka’s Ad-Din Hospital, told CNN.

After Sultana underwent an ultrasound (a procedure she didn’t have done during her first pregnancy), doctors found something remarkable: she had two uteruses — and the second contained twins.

She then welcomed a boy and a girl after Dr. Poddar performed a cesarean section. “All three children are safe and healthy. The mother is also fine,” the doctor shared with CNN.

Silhouette of pregnant woman
Silhouette of pregnant woman

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Mayo Clinic defines the condition uterus didelphys (or “double uterus”) as “a rare congenital abnormality” where the body doesn’t behave the way it usually does as the uterus develops. Normally, the two small tubes that it begins as fuse together to create one large organ.

But sometimes, “the tubes don’t join completely,” and “instead, each one develops into a separate structure,” Mayo explains. “Women who have a double uterus often have successful pregnancies. But the condition can increase the risk of miscarriage or premature birth.”

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“It is not very common to have two uteruses,” Dr. S.N. Basu, head of obstetrics and gynecology at New Delhi’s Max Healthcare Hospital, told CNN. “When the uterus develops, it comes from two tubes, and those tubes fuse together. For some women, the fusion does not occur, and the dividing wall does not dissolve.”

CNN reports that there is only a one-in-a-million chance of having uterus didelphys and delivering twins, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Basu explained to CNN, “From rural areas, people don’t know what is wrong with them. They don’t know how many children they are pregnant with and sometimes whether they are pregnant also.”