By Angie Cromar is a labor and delivery nurse. But despite her years of experience, the Utah nurse has never seen anything like what she’s currently experiencing: a 1 in 5 million double pregnancy.
Cromar was born with two uteruses, a condition known as uterus didelphys. While her first two children were both the result of normal, singleton pregnancies, Cromar is now carrying two babies — one in each uterus — of different ages. One pregnancy is estimated to be about five and a half weeks along, while the other is just over six weeks old.
Only about 70 women in the world are known to have been pregnant simultaneously in two separate wombs. In December 2006, a British woman actually delivered three healthy babies from two wombs — one set of twins and one singleton.
Double pregnancies are risky, because each uterus is only about half the size of a normal uterus, meaning that the babies may become cramped in utero, possibly leading to premature delivery. The British triplets were delivered seven weeks early via C-section and then needed additional time in intensive care to continue to grow.
As an L&D nurse, Angie Cromar is only all too aware of the risks of her extraordinary pregnancy. Whether she finds that knowledge a help or a hindrance is unknown. Do you consider your medical background a help or a hindrance when dealing with personal health issues?
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