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Woman With 2 Wombs Delivers Twins

Shane and Sarah Reinfelder hold newborn twins Valerie Marie and Kaylin Joy, who were born from two separate uteri at Marquette General Hospital in Marquette, Mich. (By Johanna Boyle, The Mining Journal via AP)

MARQUETTE, Michigan — A Michigan woman with two wombs has given birth to twin daughters — one from each uterus.

Twenty-one-year-old Sarah Reinfelder’s babies were delivered seven weeks premature Thursday by Caesarean section at Marquette General Hospital in the Upper Peninsula, The Mining Journal and WLUC-TV reported.

“I’m so excited,” Reinfelder said after the twins were born. “I couldn’t sleep at all. … I was just thinking about the girls and how I was so happy they were healthy because nobody really knew what to expect.”

Doctors said Kaylin Joy and Valerie Marie were healthy, and they and their mother were doing fine. Kaylin, who was delivered first, weighed 3 pounds, 15 ounces, and Valerie weighed 4 pounds, 15 ounces.

“It’s phenomenal for us to have nice healthy babies,” said Dr. Connie Hedmark, one of the physicians involved in the delivery. She and Dr. Breanna Pond performed two Caesarean sections for the births.

Reinfelder has a condition that is known as uterus didelphys, and doctors said such twin births are rare. The uteri are different sizes, with Valerie, the larger twin, born from the larger uterus.

The twins have similar risks as other premature babies, said neonatologist Julie Frei. She expects the twins, who don’t have fully developed lung function, likely will be hospitalized for three or four weeks.

Reinfelder, along with her husband Shane and 10-month-old son William, are originally from Sault Ste. Marie. They had been living in Marquette for about two months to be close to the hospital.

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