'One in a million': How Chinese woman gave birth to twins from different wombs

An extraordinary medical case has captured headlines in China, where a woman gave birth to twins—each from a different uterus.

Known only by her surname, Li, the woman from northwest China delivered the twins in September at a hospital in Shaanxi province. Diagnosed with uterus didelphys, a rare condition affecting just 0.3 per cent of women globally, Li gave birth to a healthy boy and girl.

Here’s more about this unique condition

What is uterus didelphys?

Uterus didelphys is an unusual condition in which a woman develops two uteruses instead of the typical single organ. This occurs during foetal development stage when the Mullerian ducts, which normally fuse to form one uterus, fail to join properly.

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As a result, each duct can become a separate uterus, leading to the formation of two distinct uterine structures, each equipped with its own set of ovaries and oviducts, as per WebMD. In some cases, women with uterine didelphys may also have two cervixes and even a vaginal septum, which creates two separate vaginal canals.

While it is already uncommon, Li’s case was even more astonishing because she managed to naturally conceive and give successfully birth twins from different uteruses.

Cai Ying, a senior obstetrician at the hospital, stated in the SCMP report, “Being pregnant in each of the two uteruses through natural conception is very rare. We have only heard of a couple of such cases from both China and abroad.”

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Ying further highlighted the rarity of Li’s situation, noting, “It’s even rarer that a woman with this condition would successfully give birth after 37 weeks,” calling it a “one in a million” phenomenon.

Li delivered her twins at eight and a half months via a C-section surgery, with both babies born healthy: the boy weighed 3.3 kg, while the girl weighed 2.4 kg. Li and her newborns were discharged just four days post-delivery.

Pregnancy is extremely challenging

Pregnancy can be particularly challenging for women with uterus didelphys. According to the Mayo Clinic, while many women with this condition have successful pregnancies, they are at a higher risk for complications.

These can include recurrent miscarriages, premature births, underdevelopment of the foetus, and postpartum hemorrhages.

Li herself had previously suffered a miscarriage at 27 weeks due to undetermined causes. After she became pregnant again in January, the medical team at the hospital devised a comprehensive plan to ensure the health of both mother and babies.

Notably, many women are unaware they have uterine didelphys, as the condition often presents no symptoms. It is frequently discovered during routine pelvic exams or ultrasounds, according to the Mayo Clinic.

In some cases, women may seek medical advice due to uncontrollable bleeding when using tampons. This bleeding can occur when a tampon is inserted in one vagina while the other uterus is still producing menstrual flow.‌

Li’s case is not isolated. In a similar incident from 2019 in Bangladesh, a woman gave birth to twins from a second uterus nearly a month after delivering a premature baby.

While in another case reported by China state broadcaster CCTV in December last year, Kelsey Hatcher, a woman in the US state of Alabama, gave birth to twin girls from both of her uteruses. That mother already had three children, but those were single-baby pregnancies that utilised only one of her two uteruses.

After the news of Li’s extraordinary birth came to light, it quickly gained traction on Chinese social media, where some users humorously remarked that the twins “lived in separate villas” inside their mother’s womb. However, others took the opportunity to highlight the challenges faced by women with similar conditions.

One observer shared, “My colleague has two uteruses. She lost her baby three times before having a son. It was not easy for her!"

With input from agencies