Some Women Can Get Pregnant When They’re Already Pregnant, and Here’s How It Happens

There are at least 3 well-known and confirmed cases of a woman conceiving a baby after already being pregnant. And we’re not talking about having twins. The phenomenon we’re featuring in today’s article is far more bizarre. All these women were sure they were going to have one baby when, weeks or months later, they were shocked to find out they’d conceived one more. Let’s learn more about doctors’ opinions on how it’s possible and if some of us are more likely to face this rare phenomenon.

The case is extremely rare, but it does happen despite all biological odds.

Numerous factors make pregnancy a harrowing experience, like morning sickness, leg cramps, heartburn, and many other things. But one of the perks of being pregnant is that you and your partner don’t have to worry about birth control anymore, at least for 9 months. It’s believed that you can’t get pregnant while already pregnant.

But some mind-blowing news will make you feel like everything you thought about pregnancy and fertility is turned upside down. As it turns out, you can technically add another kid to your tummy even when one is already developing.

A double pregnancy, or superfetation, is very rare. There aren’t even stats on how often it happens, but it’s possible, according to science. You shouldn’t worry about it happening to you, just know that it isn’t entirely impossible. Here’s why.

A double pregnancy can happen if your body performs a special trick.

It’s a well-known fact that women stop ovulating during pregnancy. Some other factors prevent you from getting a superfetation. It’s a particular condition of the uterus that adapts to carry an already fertilized egg and is unlikely to let another embryo join the existing one.

Also, during pregnancy, a woman’s body produces a mucus plug that prevents the baby from infections and serves as a barrier for other things, like repeated conception.

To have a double pregnancy, you’d have to either ovulate while pregnant or have a divided or partially formed uterus. Both scenarios are so rare that doctors haven’t been able to investigate why they happen thoroughly. They are less than 10 cases of this phenomenon described in medical literature, but it does exist and has become the subject of further discoveries.

How the timing for labor and delivery works for double pregnancies

When planning a delivery, a double pregnancy can complicate things a tad but not dramatically. You wouldn’t be dealing with an 8-month-old fetus and a 3-month-old one.

Such babies might be close in age. In most cases, babies born between 37 and 38 weeks are healthy, so a mom having a double pregnancy could, theoretically, schedule a delivery that falls somewhere between the younger and older babies’ estimated due dates.

If both babies are developing normally, there may not be any high risks for a mom carrying them. On the other hand, there may be problems if one is significantly “younger” or less developed than the other.

What would your reaction be if you found out that you were pregnant while already expecting? What are some bizarre things that happened during pregnancies in your family?