Rebecca Roberts and Rhys Weaver had really wanted children and had been trying for years, including trying ꜰᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛs, so they were thrilled to learn that Roberts had finally become pregnant. However, they did not expect to have twins, especially not extremely rare “super twins.”
When 39-year-old Roberts went for her third ultrasound at 12 weeks, doctors noticed there was another ꜰᴇᴛᴜs, and the twins were three weeks apart in growth.
At first, Roberts was sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ and confused, not understanding that this was possible.
“It was really, really sʜᴏᴄᴋɪɴɢ when they said there were two babies instead of one. Then they told me that there was a three-week difference in size between the two ꜰᴇᴛᴜsᴇs, which the doctors didn’t understand either,” said the mother from Wiltshire, England.
Roberts’ doctor, David Walker, from the obstetrics department at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, eventually determined that it was sᴜᴘᴇʀꜰᴇᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, a phenomenon that occurs when a woman who is already pregnant becomes pregnant again. This means that two different ᴇɢɢs are released from the ᴏᴠᴀʀʏ on two different occasions, are ꜰᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴢᴇᴅ, and then are ɪᴍᴘʟᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ in the ᴜᴛᴇʀᴜs, the doctor explained.
In addition, Roberts’ pregnancy was considered extraordinary because it is the largest age difference between known sᴜᴘᴇʀꜰᴇᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ twins. Walker himself was sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ and at first thought he had made a mistake during the initial tests.
“My first reaction was that I didn’t understand why I hadn’t noticed the second ꜰᴇᴛᴜs at such an early age. After that, I was a little relieved that it wasn’t my fault, but a very unusual pregnancy,” said the doctor.
When Roberts found out she was expecting twins, she had to overcome the initial sʜᴏᴄᴋ alone, as her partner was unable to attend the test due to restrictions due to the ⓒⓞⓡⓞⓝⓐⓥⓘⓡⓤⓢ and had to wait in the parking lot.
Both parents received the sʜᴏᴄᴋɪɴɢ news with mixed feelings; they were confused and had difficulty finding information about the rare phenomenon. The doctors also told them that the younger twin, Rosalie, might not even survive.
According to Roberts, her pregnancy was quite scary. “Basically, the twin pregnancy was scary, and then there was my age and the fact that the ꜰᴇᴛᴜsᴇs were ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠᴇᴅ at different times, and we were told that Rosalie’s chances were very bad,” the mother recalled.
Noah and Rosalie ended up being born on the same day, but Rosalie was at greater ʀɪsᴋ. The doctors were forced to go into labor at 33 weeks because Rosalie stopped growing due to problems with the ᴜᴍʙɪʟɪᴄᴀʟ ᴄᴏʀᴅ.
The babies were born in September 2020, with Noah weighing around 2 kilos and Rosalie just 1 kilo 10 deka. But luckily, after spending 95 days in the neonatal intensive care unit, he too was able to go home, just before Christmas.
“They are my super twins. Every day when I look at them, I think how lucky I am,” Roberts said.
“For many years I wanted another child, and I was waiting for the right man. Then I met Rhys; we fell in love, we wanted a baby, and we tried for a long time, but I didn’t get pregnant. Then I did get pregnant, and we were blessed with two babies. It was worth waiting for,” said Roberts, adding that the bond between the twins is already very close.
