GhLinks Media
A woman from Alabama named Kelsey Hatcher is pregnant with twins in two separate uteruses, a very rare condition known as didelphys uterus.
This rare occurrence shocked local doctors and is getting attention for a case study.
Kelsey Hatcher and her husband Caleb have a pretty busy life.
They both work, and they have three children, ages 7, 4 and 2.
They thought their family was complete until Kelsey realized she was pregnant last spring.
When she went for her first ultrasound appointment, she got some information she needed to pass along to Caleb.
“I said, well, there’s two of them in there. And he said, you’re lying. I said, no, I’m not,” Kelsey said.
But what shocked her obstetrician wasn’t the fact that she’s having two babies, but that she has a double uterus — two functional uteri, and she has a baby in each of them.
“Very, very rare. Yes. OB/GYNs go their whole careers without seeing anything like this,” OB/GYN Dr. Shweta Patel said.
Kelsey Hatcher has two uteri, each with its own cervix.
She’s known about her physical oddity for a while, and she knows it’s pretty rare.
That’s why her pregnancy is considered high-risk. UAB Dr. Richard Davis specializes in high-risk pregnancies.
“A double cervix or double uteruses way under 1%, maybe three per 1,000 women might have that. And then the probability of you having a twin in each horn is really crazy,” Davis said.
The rarity of this pregnancy is getting a lot of attention, Kelsey and the babies will even be the topic of a case study.
“I’m typically not one that, like likes a lot of attention and doesn’t want people to be talking about all my stuff. And so, to be this rare and kind of out there, I’m like, oh my gosh, there’s a lot,” Kelsey said.
The babies are both girls, and they’re growing exactly as they should.
The tricky part will be when both, or maybe just one, decides to make their entrance into the world.
“So when she goes into labor, if she does, then we will have to monitor each uterus and see which one’s contracting and if they’re doing sort of almost the same or they’re different,” Davis said.
There’s a good chance each uterus could start contractions at different times. The sisters could be born hours, days, or weeks apart. So, with each baby having their own separate uterus and placenta. Are they twins or simply siblings?
“I think medically, this is such a rare thing that we don’t have a better way of describing it besides still calling them twins,” Patel said.
No matter what you call them, in a few weeks, the Hatchers will have five children under 8.
“The third one was our last one. But though, we’re grateful for the blessings for sure. But this will definitely be the end,” Kelsey said.
There will be teams of doctors standing by to deal with whatever may come their way when Kelsey goes into labor.
Her due date is Christmas day.
