This Woman Got Pregnant While She Was Pregnant And It’s Blown Our Minds

Here’s a fun fact for your next pub quiz: it’s possible to get pregnant while you’re already pregnant. The phenomenon, which occurs when a woman continues to ovulate during pregnancy, is extremely rare but not unheard of, with the latest case of it bringing it to our attention.

Jessica Allen, an American surrogate for a Chinese couple, discovered she was pregnant with what she thought were twins while at her ultrasound appointment, after the doctor found two heartbeats. Unbeknownst to her and the couple, she was actually carrying not only their child but one of her own, conceived three weeks later and inhabiting a separate amniotic sac.

Suspicions were raised after the couple sent Jessica and her husband pictures of the newborn ‘twins’, who looked noticeably different. Concerned about what might have happened, they did DNA tests, when they found out that one of the babies was genetically theirs. In a horrible twist, the Chinese couple refused to look after the baby that wasn’t theirs, and demanded between $18,000-20,000 in compensation.

It’s not even the first time that it’s happened in recent years. Last year, Kate Hill from Australia got pregnant twice in 10 days – despite only having sex once. Her daughters Charlotte and Olivia were born nine months later, sisters rather than twins.

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