Woman with Rare Double Uterus Gives Birth to Two Daughters in Two Days
An extraordinary medical feat unfolded in Alabama as Kelsey Hatcher, a woman with a rare double uterus, astounded experts by giving birth to two daughters in a remarkable two-day span, defying one-in-a-million odds.
By Richard Cole · December 26, 2023
Kelsey Hatcher, a woman from Alabama with a congenital anomaly known as uterus didelphys or a double uterus, has defied the odds by giving birth to two daughters in a span of just two days.
Mrs. Hatcher, who was already a mother of three, experienced a one-in-a-million event as she became pregnant in both of her functional uteri. The medical phenomenon unfolded at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Hospital, where she spent a grueling 20 hours in labor.
The first daughter, Roxi, made her debut on Tuesday evening, followed by the arrival of her sister, Rebel, the next morning, a mere 10 hours later. This rare double delivery astonished medical professionals and captured the attention of the public.
“I said, ‘Well, there’s two of them in there,’” Mrs. Hatcher shared about the moment she revealed the news to her husband Caleb. “And he said, ‘You’re lying.’ I said, ‘No, I’m not.’”
Uterus didelphys is an extremely rare congenital anomaly, occurring in just 0.3% of women. Mrs. Hatcher was diagnosed with this condition at the age of 17, but it wasn’t until her recent pregnancies that the true rarity of her case became evident.
Despite the challenges posed by the high-risk nature of the pregnancy, Mrs. Hatcher expressed her gratitude towards the medical team at UAB. In a statement released by the hospital, she said, “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.”
Dr. Shweta Patel, Mrs. Hatcher’s obstetrician, emphasized the extraordinary nature of the pregnancy, stating that such cases are very rare. Dr. Richard Davis, a specialist in high-risk pregnancies at the University of Alabama, highlighted the rarity of having a double cervix or uterus, noting that it is observed in less than 1% of women.
The question of whether the newborns can be classified as twins adds another layer of complexity. Technically, they are fraternal twins, as two eggs were released and fertilized during the same ovulation cycle, even though they occupied separate uteri.
“At the end of the day, it was two babies in one belly at the same time. They just had different apartments,” explained Professor Davis.