Mother who conceived while ALREADY ten days pregnant was advised to terminate the 'smaller baby'... but refused and went on to deliver two healthy sons
- **Lisa found out she was pregnant with 'twins' at a seven week ultrasound
- Doctors told her smaller baby was 'dying' and should be terminated
- But amniocentesis later revealed the baby was healthy
- It wasn't until the babies were born that Lisa was told she had rare condition
- She experienced a 'double pregnancy' and had conceived while pregnant
A double pregnancy is so rare there are just a handful of cases recorded in the world.
Australian mother **Lisa counts herself 'lucky to be alive' after falling pregnant while already pregnant, an exceptionally rare condition known as superfetation.
The now 53-year-old gave birth to two boys who were conceived a staggering 10 days apart.
Australian mother Lisa counts herself 'lucky to be alive' after falling pregnant while already pregnant, an exceptionally rare condition known as superfetation
Baby Paul weighed just 1.2 kilos, 400 grams less than his brother, when he was born prematurely at 28 weeks
Sam, the stronger of the two brothers, just after birth weighing 1.6 kilos. He is considered older by the family because he was conceived 10 days before Paul
Having given birth to a baby girl five years earlier and was told that after a complicated delivery, and near death on the operating table, she would never conceive again.
So it came as quite a shock to find she was pregnant with 'twins' some years later, in 1994.
Suffering from severe morning sickness Lisa was hospitalised at the seven week mark with an ultrasound revealing one baby was much smaller than the other.
'They measured the babies femurs and noticed they were very different in size. Apparently this isn't normal so early on with twins,' Lisa told Daily Mail Australia.
Sam (L) and Paul (R) shortly after they arrived home from the hospital. They were born prematurely
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'The doctors told me that because of his size the smaller baby was dying.
'Now at first I didn't really want twins, the news came as a shock considering I was told I'd never fall pregnant again, but I was very upset to hear one was dying.'
For the next five weeks Lisa had regular ultrasound appointments all of which showed both babies heart beats were steady.
'I remember one day I was bleeding on the hospital bed and a nurse said: "Don't worry the blood is just the second baby letting go." I was horrified.'
After the twelve week mark doctors said that the smaller baby was 'severely disabled' and may have complications like hydrocephaly.
Lisa said: 'They [doctors] told me that because this was considered a high risk pregnancy, especially in terms of my previous labour, I should terminate the small baby.
Paul (underneath) and Sam are a result of superfetation, a condition only recorded a handful of times before
'They told me he was disabled before any kind of test was done.'
'Not once did anyone mention the idea of a double pregnancy. If I had known there was a chance it could be that I would have approached everything differently.'
The mother-of-three had an amniocentesis to confirm the doctors suspicions, but neither child was disabled.
So Lisa decided not to terminate the pregnancy and went into labour at 28 weeks.
An emergency C-section showed that Lisa's uterus had split in half and she and the twins were in danger.
'I now know that if I had stood up at any point my babies would have been born into my stomach,' she said.
The larger baby Sam, born weighing 1.6 kilos, was technically the older 'twin' because he was conceived 10 days before his brother Paul but Paul, born weighing 1.2 kilos, was delivered first by the doctors.
It was only after her boys were born that Lisa discovered she had experienced a 'double pregnancy'.
The boys, now 23, might have been small to begin with but are both over 180cm today.
Lisa said: 'They're doing so well. Paul is a gifted guitarist and flautist. Sam has just graduated from uni.'
The mother-of-three said she was sharing her story now having read reports about similar cases of double pregnancy.
'When I spoke about my experience on Facebook another woman mentioned she had a double pregnancy so I'm glad I talked about it,' she said.
'Women should know these types of rare circumstances exist so they can make informed decisions.'
**Name has been changed
