EFN

In an extremely rare case, Todd and Julia Grovenburg’s obstetrician confirmed that the couple will have two babies after “an ultrasound revealed that a male fetus was conceived a full two-and-a-half weeks after the woman became pregnant with a baby girl.”

The soon to be mother of two described her ultrasound as an “absolutely shocking experience” when it showed that one baby was eight-and-a-half weeks old and the other was 11 weeks old.

This is an extremely uncommon occurrence. Typically, a woman after getting pregnant cannot be impregnated against during pregnancy because there are no eggs available for fertilization. This incredibly natural event is called superfoetation, meaning two separate instances of fertilization during the same cycle. Superfetation is so rare that there are only 10 reported cases on record. Superfetation can only be confirmed after both babies are born – when chromosomal and metabolic tests can be performed on the newborns. The younger baby can face serious complications including being born prematurely, lung development problems, among other health risks.

The older baby has already been given the name Jillian and her younger brother has been named Hudson.

Doctors have warned the parents that both babies will likely be born together some time in early December in which case Hudson is expected to be born first because of his position.