A woman born with two wombs has beaten the 1-in-50 million odds of welcoming twins with one baby growing in each uterus.
Ashley Calo, from Bristol, Connecticut, was left speechless after doctors told her that she would be having twins—one boy and one girl—and that both of the babies would be growing in each of her two wombs.
The 31-year-old woman, who is also a mother to a 3-year-old daughter named Cassidy, was born with a rare condition called uterus didelphys, which left her with two wombs and two cervixes. In some cases, those with this condition even have two vaginas. It is known that the condition doesn’t cause any symptoms.
The mom first discovered that she has a double uterus after undergoing ultrasound for a kidney infection at the age of 18.
“It turns out my father’s mom had the same condition, so I think it skips a generation as none of her daughters have it,” Ashley said. “I was worried that it might affect my chance at having kids, but thankfully this wasn’t an issue.”
After Ashley and her husband, Mike, 33, a dental lab technician, welcomed their first daughter, Cassidy, they decided that they wanted two kids, so they began trying for another baby again.
However, the couple was surprised to know that they were expecting twins.
“I was at my eight-week ultrasound when I found out,” the stay-at-home mother said. “I gave the technician the usual spiel about how I have a double uterus, just to give her a heads up that she would see one uterus empty.”
“Then she told me that I was having twins, and that one was growing in each womb,” the mother added.
Upon hearing this, both the mom and dad were “shocked.” Ashley recalled being in complete disbelief for a period of two weeks on hearing this news, as twins usually tend to share one uterus.
Even the doctor exclaimed that in 30 years of practicing medicine, she hadn’t come across something like this.
However, Ashley said that being pregnant with the twins was more difficult and not as smooth sailing as her first pregnancy. “The pregnancy with the twins was far more taxing on my body. I was always hungry and was constantly eating, they were just consuming everything I ate,” Ashley said.
As the parents already were blessed with one girl, they hoped that the twins would be a boy-girl pair. Much to their surprise, Ashley and Mike welcomed Zoey and Parker, who both weighed 6 pounds 6 ounces (approx. 3 kg), in April 2020 in the presence of 20 people.
“I don’t think we could handle three girls, but I don’t think I could have handled two boys either. So it worked out perfectly,” Ashley said.
Due to the rare nature of her condition, Ashley admits that she gets asked a lot of questions from curious friends and family members, as her mother tends to bring up Ashley’s story at every family gathering and wants her to share it with everyone.
“Everyone is always so intrigued by it. They have a lot of questions,” Ashley explained. “They think I have a double period when I don’t—it’s completely normal.”
For a woman with a double uterus to have twins, it requires two separate sperm to latch on two separate eggs, with one egg being in each womb, and the chances of this occurring to any woman are 1 in 50 million. Meanwhile, the chances of this occurring to a woman with uterus didelphys is 1 in 25,000.
Despite the initial trepidation Ashley faced on having twins, she says that they are now a happy little family. As for Zoey and Parker, who are now 6 months old, they are doing just great, and each of them has their own unique personality.
“We couldn’t be happier with our family and it will be a fun story to tell them about mommy’s double uterus when they’re older!” Ashley concluded.
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