double uterus twins (UAB) — Kelsey Hatcher with Roxi (L) and Rebel (R). (Andrea Mabry / UAB)

Last week, Kelsey Hatcher delivered two healthy “twin” girls 10 hours apart and on separate days at UAB. Keep reading for her amazing story.

Double the babies, double the birthdays

Kelsey Hatcher walked into UAB on December 19 with what the hospital called a “one-in-a-million” pregnancy. She has a rare double uterus and was pregnant with a baby on each side.

After 20 hours of labor, Kelsey gave birth to two healthy daughters, one day apart—giving the twins separate birthdays.

“Never in our wildest dreams could we have planned a pregnancy and birth like this; but bringing our two healthy baby girls into this world safely was always the goal, and UAB helped us accomplish that. It seems appropriate that they had two birthdays, though. They both had their own ‘houses,’ and now both have their own unique birth stories.”
Kelsey Hatcher

A “one-in-a-million” pregnancy

Kelsey was diagnosed with a double uterus when she was 17. Since her previous three pregnancies were typical and healthy, many would assume the fourth would be the same.

A few weeks into her fourth pregnancy, she noticed some bleeding and made an appointment for her first ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that the baby was doing well and Kelsey asked to check her second uterus for good measure.

“As soon as she moved the wand to the other uterus, I gasped. Sure enough, there was another baby. We just could not believe it.”
Kelsey Hatcher

Throughout her pregnancy, Kelsey rotated between her obstetrics and maternal-fetal medicine team at UAB for routine checkups and ultrasounds. Other than a few additional appointments, her pregnancy was routine.

She was induced at 39 weeks and delivered one baby at 7:45PM on December 19 and another baby at 6:10AM on December 20.