This is a rare story that happened to a woman named Sophie Small (30 years old), a swimming coach in Leominster, Herefordshire, England.
In August 2020, Sophie gave birth to two lovely girls, Holly and Darcy. Throughout her pregnancy, she believed she was having twins. However, when the two children cried out at birth, both the doctors and midwives found it strange due to their weights. Darcy was born first, weighing only 1.9 kg, while Holly, the second child, weighed a considerable 2.75 kg.
Sophie Small gave birth to her daughters Holly and Darcy in August 2020. Initially, she believed the two girls were twins.
From this point, the new truth began to emerge. After further investigation, doctors determined that the girls were actually conceived a month apart. This means that while she was pregnant with Holly, Sophie continued to ovulate and conceived Darcy as well.
Sophie Small’s husband, Jonathan, taken with their newborn daughters.
This phenomenon is known as “superfetation” – a super rare occurrence in which a pregnant woman conceives an additional baby while already pregnant.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, superfetation is extremely rare in humans. There have only been about 10 confirmed cases in human history.
The clinic’s information page states: “It is so strange and rare that when it occurs, it often causes public uproar. Generally, the probability of superfetation happening is almost 0.”
The two children are the result of a rare phenomenon.
The clinic claims that a pregnant woman’s body undergoes “hormonal changes that make it nearly impossible to conceive again while a fertilized egg and embryo are already developing inside the uterus.”
For her part, Sophie told Kennedy News that her pregnancy was “terrible.” She suffered from severe morning sickness and had to be hospitalized eight times in seven weeks.
Sophie Small’s twin daughters.
The mother said: “I was pregnant with two babies developing at different stages, but my husband and I had no idea. The doctors didn’t know either. They couldn’t figure out why I was having twins in such a strange way. I was expecting to welcome a set of twins, but one was much larger than the other.”
She further explained: “They had their own sacs and placentas. But the doctors couldn’t understand why one of the two was developing so much more.” Only after conducting tests did the doctors confirm that the two babies were not twins at all.
The two sisters were born with a significant weight difference.
“Darcy was born at 32 weeks, and Holly was in her mother’s womb for 36 weeks,” Sophie shared.
Many people did not believe Sophie when she told them the incredible story that happened to her. “People thought I was crazy when I explained the difference between my two daughters,” Sophie said.
Meanwhile, others even doubted that the two girls were related due to their differing appearances and personalities.
“Holly has beautiful blonde hair and big blue eyes and wants to be a princess or a racehorse jockey,” the mother explained. “Darcy has mouse-brown hair, is a tomboy, and wants to be a train driver when she grows up.”
Sadly, Holly was born with cerebral palsy, affecting the right side of her body, and to this day, doctors have not been able to determine whether this condition is a result of the rare phenomenon of “superfetation.”
Meanwhile, Darcy’s stomach lining did not develop normally at the time of her birth, as she was born prematurely at 32 weeks.
Sophie told Kennedy News that her daughters had to spend the first few months of their lives in the hospital, but they have since grown healthy.
“They are mischievous, cheerful children and are completely developing well. Recently, the two daughters started kindergarten and are very confident.”
“I don’t know what the future holds. It’s challenging, but we are very happy and lucky to have our children,” Sophie affirmed.
