Double your pleasure, double your fun.
A mom in Australia was blessed with two times the bundles of joy she bargained for when the 35-year-old gave birth to twin sons who were conceived days apart — one naturally and the other via IVF.
After being diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) when she was 15, it’s something that Kimberley Tripp, from Brisbane, Queensland, never thought would be possible. The condition, marked by an imbalance of reproductive hormones, can make it difficult for women to get pregnant due to irregular ovulation.
It is possible to conceive and give birth, and Tripp tried. But eventually, Tripp and her husband [who wished to be left unnamed] opted for in-vitro fertilization, a solution for many women with PCOS who have trouble conceiving.
In July 2019, after four previous rounds of IVF, the Tripps found out they were pregnant after one of the embryos was successfully fertilized in a lab.
“It was something we thought might never happen,” Tripp told Caters News.
But weeks later, the office manager learned her luck had doubled as she was pregnant with not one baby, conceived through IVF, but two, the other of which snuck in the old-fashioned way. It would mean the two fetuses would effectively be twins, despite coming to life about one week apart from each other — a medical phenomenon called superfetation.
“I was in total shock,” said Tripp. “We only transferred one embryo, so I couldn’t understand what happened. We couldn’t believe it. I never knew something like that was even possible.”
In March 2020, Tripp gave birth to her two healthy sons, Leo and Patrick.
Doctors told the new mom that her thorough fertility regimen during IVF may have sparked her own natural processes, making it more possible for her to conceive naturally.
“My husband and I didn’t think to use protection during the IVF process, because I don’t ovulate,” said Tripp. “The reason for the IVF in the first place.”
Now 15 months, her twin boys are already coming into their own: Patrick, the “determined” one, and Leo, the “jokester,” said Tripp.
“I now feel like my world is complete,” she said. “We’re so happy.”
