‘One in a million’: Woman gives birth to twins from separate wombs

A woman in northwest China, identified only by her last name, Li, gave birth to twins — one from each of her two wombs. The babies, a boy and a girl, were delivered via caesarean section.

The Xi’an People’s Hospital in Shaanxi province called it a “one in a million” occurrence.

“It is extremely rare for twins to be conceived naturally in each cavity of the uterus. It’s even more rare for them to be carried to term,” the hospital said on its official account on China’s X-like social media platform Weibo, according to CNN.

Li defies the odds with healthy twins

Li’s rare condition affects just 0.3% of women. Both of her wombs are fully developed, each with its own ovaries and fallopian tubes, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

During pregnancy, women with this condition face a higher risk of multiple miscarriages, premature births, fetal development issues, and excessive bleeding after delivery.

Li’s babies were born healthy, with the boy weighing 3,3kg and the girl 2,4kg.

Cai Ying, a senior obstetrician at the hospital said such a pregnancy through natural conception “is very rare”.

“We have only heard of a couple of such cases from both China and abroad. It’s even more rare that a woman with this condition would successfully give birth after 37 weeks,” she said.

According to The Times of India, Li, whose age has not been revealed, had a miscarriage at 27 weeks in the past. When she discovered she was pregnant again, doctors created a detailed care plan to support her health throughout the pregnancy.

‘Twins lived in separate villas’

The news of the extraordinary birth caught major attention on Chinese social media. Some observers humorously expressed that the twins “lived in separate villas” inside their mother’s womb.

However, others reminded the public of the challenges associated with such a pregnancy, recalling the struggles faced by women with similar conditions.

Li and her newborns were discharged from the hospital four days after the babies’ birth.

ALSO READ: No Excuses! Free Prostate Screenings—Your Health Matters