I conceived my twins days apart – doctors advised me to terminate one but I refused
MADELINE Kaklikos, 24, is a social worker and lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband Jon, 27, an electrician, and their twin boys, Nate and Cole, 12 weeks.
Here, she reveals how she conceived her twins days apart – and carried them in her two wombs.
Here, she reveals
After scanning my pregnant belly, the obstetrician looked surprised.
‘I can see another baby. You’re having twins,’ she said slowly. ‘But one is in your second uterus.’
My husband Jon and I looked at each other in total disbelief.
Nearly two years earlier, in 2020, I’d been diagnosed with uterus didelphys (UD), an extremely rare congenital condition where a woman is born with two uteruses.
I’d undergone a variety of tests, following three unsuccessful years of trying to fall pregnant, and was shocked by the discovery – I’d never even heard of UD.
Having already been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) when I was 18, I knew it would be difficult for me to conceive.
Worried that UD would further impact my ability to have a baby, doctors advised us to try IVF.
At our first egg collection in 2021, we got five, with which the doctor was able to create two embryos.
They were placed into my more accessible uterus on my right side, but the embryos didn’t take.
We kept trying, but by the time I had my eighth round, I was terrified we’d never have a baby.
It was a dark time and I really struggled to find hope.
A few months later, doctors successfully created 11 embryos and, on our 10th attempt, one was transferred into my left uterus, which had not previously been accessible. This time, it worked.
In June 2022, our doctor called to say I was pregnant.
I was with Jon, my parents and brother, and we all erupted into screams, tears streaming down our faces as we hugged.
It wasn’t until our 10-week scan that we found out we were having twins.
Doctors explained the chances of having one baby in one uterus and a second in the other was one in 50 million.
They’d also been conceived at different times and in different ways – one through IVF, and the other naturally.
The pregnancy was classed as high-risk, and our doctor said a second baby could risk everything.
It was likely I‘d lose both babies, so we were advised to terminate one.
Although we were terrified, we believed both our twins were meant to be, so decided against terminating one.
My pregnancy went fairly smoothly. I was under constant monitoring, so felt very safe.
However, due to the wall that divides my uteruses and blocked cervix, I wasn’t able to deliver naturally, and was told they didn’t know how the C-section would go or how many incisions they’d need to make to get our babies out.
On February 20, at 34 weeks, my waters broke and I underwent the planned C-section.
I was petrified, but Jon was so calm, and in the end doctors were able to deliver our beautiful twin boys, who we named Nate and Cole, via one external incision.
Cradling my babies for the first time, I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest.
We only had 10 minutes holding them before they were taken to special care, but it was everything I’d dreamed of.
Being away from them was hard – I’d go to special care at 6am and leave around 9pm.
Going home was heartbreaking and waking every two hours to express breastmilk was tough, but I knew they were being cared for by amazing nurses.
After 17 days, they were finally discharged.
Having newborn twins was hectic, but they’re 12 weeks old now and are doing well.
We’re loving life as parents to our miracle twins. When they’re old enough to understand, we’ll tell them just how special they are.”
BTW
Around one in 25,000 women with UD gets pregnant with twins and carries one in each uterus.
This means that the likelihood of a woman growing two babies in two separate wombs is about one in 50 million.