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‘Astounding’: Alabama woman with two uteruses is pregnant in both wombs
(www.theguardian.com)
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this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2023
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Not a med school student but fraternal twins come from 2 separate zygotes - 2 different eggs and 2 different sperm cells. If you disregard the whole 'two uteri' aspect they'd be twins, fraternal twins, dizygotic. It's all two eggs being fertilized at the same time, right?
What happens if the pregnancies were, say, 5 months apart? What kind of complications would there be?
A natural birth consists of a bunch of hormonal changes that initiate the process (similar to a medically induced abortion); I’d be super surprised if the younger fetus doesn’t abort when the older one is birthed on time.
I was going to ask if other animals were capable of multiple simultaneous pregnancies, but then I figured I should probably just google it.
Interestingly I found that it has indeed happened to humans, but it confirms your idea, because in the latest documented example, the children were born at the same time.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfetation
All mammals that give birth in litters have one large and “lumpy/compartmentalized” uterus. Opossums (not mammals) for example have a forked reproductive tract which forks in the vaginal canal with two distinct “halves” leading to a different uterine compartment. I don’t think there’s any animal with two completely separate uteruses; please correct me if there is one though 😛
Opossums are mammals, just not placental mammals. Marsupials are in the class of mammals, and kangaroos have two separate uteruses
I mean this post is about one
That does not necessarily preclude the younger child's survival after delivering the older child via C-section though. Presumably if the aim was survival of both fetuses that would be the route taken?
I'd be more curious how that second pregnancy even happened though. AFAIK a natural conception isn't usually possible during pregnancy because no eggs are released. It might be possible via IVF or something, but who would you take that risk?
If they went that route, they’d probably have to block the hormonal pathway associated with labor induction anyway (because as the older fetus ages it will start that cascade toward the end of the pregnancy). Theoretically, I bet you could deliver the oldest with a c-section followed by another’s few months later, but you’re really putting the mother’s life at risk because the healing time between c-sections being 6 weeks at minimum. Continuing the second pregnancy for another 5 months could cause internal bleeding.
Pregnancy hormone HCG caused ovulation to stop its normal cycle. Essentially, their are either the same age or the first pregnancy already ended and needs to be removed, but due to complications the younger embryo probably won't make it either.
According to the article, they didn't need to be but likely were. Makes sense, thanks.
Though would they end up being delivered at the same time?