One year after a Pittsburgh couple’s hopes were dashed by suspected infertility, the mom-to-be received a happy surprise, and then another one.
Dee Michelle and her partner, Antonio Livingston, are now expecting three babies in a phenomenon called rare double pregnancy. The phenomenon, also known as superfetation, can occur when a woman continues to ovulate after becoming pregnant. In Michelle’s case, babies A and B are twins; baby C was conceived six days earlier.
To add to the mystery, multiples do not run in the expectant mother’s family. “We were shocked ... we don’t have any twins, triplets, nothing,” she said.
Babies A & B, she continued, will be identical. Baby C will be fraternal as they are by themself. Worryingly, the twins are at risk of developing a condition known as twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), whereby one of the babies may consume more nutrients from the placenta than the other, causing a deficit to the twin.
Michelle and Livingston, however, remain optimistic.
“We are believing that all 3 of our babies will be healthy, equal in size, and have no complications,” they wrote. “Please continue to pray for us and our babies as we have a long journey ahead of us!”
At the time of writing, the couple have received their babies’ genders, but both mom and dad are opting to remain in the dark until their planned gender reveal takes place.
