Pregnant Woman Gets Pregnant Again

By Amanda Pendolino on September 24th, 2009

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Today we all learn a new word: superfetation. It’s a rare condition in which a woman who is pregnant gets pregnant AGAIN. Not twins, but a completely different fetus conceived at a different time. ABC News reports that Julia Grovenburg of Arkansas is experiencing one of only about ten reported cases of this condition; next to Julia’s and her husband Todd’s growing baby girl (already named Jillian), doctors discovered a smaller, male fetus that was conceived about two and a half weeks later.

“When the woman had her ultrasound initially, they saw one sack, one baby developing, and that baby had a certain gestational age; then they noticed a second heartbeat in a child that was much, much younger developmentally,” said Dr. Karen Boyle, a fertility expert at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center. “It does really sound like this is a true case of different conception times for these children.”

It took several experts and ultrasounds to confirm that this was a case of superfetation rather than twins who were developing at different rates. Boyle added that the condition is extremely rare, and actually much more common in animals than humans.

This risk with superfetation is that the second baby will likely be delivered prematurely – but in Julia’s case, the second baby is only 2 weeks younger. If the first baby is carried to full term, he’s got a good shot at being healthy.