Woman With Two Uteruses Has Twins

Andreea Barbosa, diagnosed with uterus didelphys, or two uteruses, had twins - one from each uterus

A Clearwater woman gave birth last week to twins from two separate uteruses.

Andreea Barbosa has uterus didelphys and on Thursday gave birth to Nathan and Natalie Barbosa, the St. Petersburg Times reported.

While the condition often results in infertility, Barbosa conceived the two children at the same time in separate uteruses.

"It was definitely a shocker," Barbosa told the newspaper. "I was frightened and scared - a little bit of everything in one."

According to Barbosa's obstetrician, Dr. Patricia St. John, approximately one in 2,000 women around the world are diagnosed with this unique condition.

St. John said the odds of having such a pregnancy are one in five million and explained that a woman has to release two eggs at the same time and both must be fertilized and implanted successfully in two different uteruses.

Though researchers are unsure of the cause, it develops before birth as two tubes that usually fuse to form the uterus develop into two different cavities.

"From the outside, there was nothing wrong with me, " Barbosa told the newspaper.

When the mother gave birth to her now 2-year-old daughter, Izabella, by Cesarean section, St. John noticed that her left uterus was smaller than her right but did not mention the possibility as she did not think a double pregnancy would occur.

"She had a perfect pregnancy. She was so lucky," St. John told the paper. "She was delivered a little early, just to preclude any problems with the placenta bleeding and causing an emergency situation."

"The first pregnancy I had one, the second I had two," Barbosa told the Times, adding that she has no intent to try for a third time.

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