A woman becomes pregnant, while being pregnant – WEIRD!!!
Posted on | October 1, 2009 | No Comments
An Arkansas woman, 31, became pregnant while already being pregnant. This happened two weeks into her first pregnancy. Basically, she will have a baby and then another one two weeks afterwards. Apparently, it’s only the fifteenth case known to us and is called superfetation (what an awesome name!). She has a super fetus!!! Btw, here is the link to the news article.
The mechanism behind it is not really known but some scientists think that it happens when the menstrual cycle keeps on going even after a woman becomes pregnant. Usually what happens is that a woman’s menstrual cycle ceases once she becomes pregnant because she stops producing Leutinizing Hormone (LH). LH is responsible for causing the ovarian follicles to grow and ovulate on the fourteenth day of the month. No LH means no ovulation, no egg, and therefore no fertilization.
More as I wrap my head around it and figure out more mechanisms and perhaps more hypotheses. I know, a nerdgasm but I can’t help being fascinated by this…
Wait! Somebody in my lab brought up an excellent point. What happens when she goes into labor? Is one fetus really just going to chill there while the other is being born? Contractions can’t be selective! This just keeps getting weirder and weirder! and that’s why I love biology. Help me understand this please, if you got any ideas.
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