It was a two for the price of one delivery.
Kelsey Hatcher arrived at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital last week for her fourth scheduled induction, not uncommon for some expectant mothers.
But this labor and childbirth would be one for the record books.
Despite having three prior uncomplicated pregnancies, this time was different. Hatcher, 32, has the rare condition of having a double uterus — and each contained a developing baby.
After a marathon 20 combined hours of labor, Hatcher delivered two baby girls within a 10-hour time period: one on Dec.19th and another on Dec. 20, according to the University of Alabama website.
“Never in our wildest dreams could we have planned a pregnancy and birth like this; but bringing our two healthy baby girls into this world safely was always the goal, and UAB helped us accomplish that,” Hatcher said.
Roxi and Rebel Hatcher were born within 10 hours – and each were delivered from one of their mother’s two uteruses. Andrea Mabry/UAB
Kelsey Hatcher, 32, and her husband, Caleb, were shocked back in May when they learned Kelsey was carrying a baby each in her two uteruses. Kelsey Hatcher/doubleuhatcher/AFP via Getty Images
Diagnosed with uterus didelphys, a rare congenital anomaly occurring in 0.3 percent of women, Hatcher learned of her condition when she was just 17.
Hatcher discovered bleeding a few weeks into her fourth pregnancy and got a precautionary ultrasound that revealed the two babies, one in each uterus.
The phenomenon is officially known as a dicavitary twin pregnancy and it occurs in one in a million cases.
Hatcher and her husband welcomed baby girls Roxi and Rebel who were delivered 10 hours apart beginning Dec. 19. University of Alabama Birmingham/AFP via Getty Images
Hatcher recalled her and her husband Caleb’s shock when the UAB ultrasound technician showed them their scans.
“As soon as she moved the wand to the other uterus, I gasped,” Hatcher recalled. “Sure enough, there was another baby. We just could not believe it.”
Kelsey Hatcher holds her daughter Roxi while husband Caleb Hatcher cuddles baby Rebel. University of Alabama at Birmingham/AFP via Getty Images
With so few cases to learn from, doctors weren’t sure how to best deliver the babies but ultimately agreed to give Hatcher the vaginal delivery she wanted.
She was induced at 39 weeks, with medical teams assigned to both babies. Roxi was successfully delivered vaginally. The second baby, Rebel, required a cesarean section.
Kelsey Hatcher holds her twin daughters Roxi Layla (L) and Rebel Laken (R). University of Alabama Birmingham/AFP via Getty Images
Rebel, left, and Roxi, right. via UAB
Hatcher’s medical team ultimately categorized the babies as fraternal twins, because they came from the fertilization of two eggs during the same ovulation cycle.
“I think it is safe to call the girls fraternal twins,” said said Richard O. Davis, M.D., professor in the UAB Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine who co-managed Kelsey’s pregnancy along with her obstetrician, Shweta Patel, M.D.
“At the end of the day, it was two babies in one belly at the same time. They just had different apartments.”
