A shocked mum has revealed how she managed to get pregnant while already being pregnant - conceiving her two daughters five days apart from each other. Watch her explain what happened below:
Odalis and Antonio Martinez, from San Pablo, California, were overjoyed when they found out that they were expecting a baby in November 2020, even more so than usual given that the couple had been heartbroken after suffering from a miscarriage a few months prior.
But upon attending her first scan a few weeks later, the 25-year-old was both surprised and delighted to learn that she was actually expecting not one but two separate babies that had been conceived during different times in the same week.
Advert
The incredibly rare phenomenon is known as ‘superfetation’ and is when a second, new pregnancy occurs during an initial pregnancy - and can happen days or even weeks after the first one.
The full-time-mum said it felt like a 'miracle' to give birth to her daughters Lilo and Imelda Martinez-Atoyac, but admits the pair look so similar that she and Antonio have mistaken them for one another.
In fact, the duo look so alike that Odalis says she tells people they are twins rather than having to explain the truth.
She said: "I just say that they're twins but after reading a lot of articles I know that they're technically not twins but it's just confusing for people so I just tell them like 'yeah, they're twins.'
"They're technically not even identical but everyone thinks that they are. They definitely look a lot alike.
"Sometimes me and my husband, well more my husband, will get them mixed up with each other.
"Antonio will have a baby for an hour and be like 'oh Lilo' this and that and I'm like 'you have Imelda' and he will be like 'what?' and I'm just there laughing because he was like 'oh my God for a whole hour I thought I had Lilo'."
Odalis and Antonio, who currently works as a counsellor, married in early 2020 and dreamed of starting their own family.
She fell pregnant but discovered she had miscarried during their 12 week check-up in July 2020.
When she fell pregnant again, emotions were running high during the run-up to her first scan, with Odalis saying she was mentally preparing herself for the worst.
When the doctor told her the baby was healthy, Odalis was overcome with joy - but when she then told her she had found another baby with a heartbeat, she went into overdrive.
Odalis said: "I was just crying with happiness. I felt like the first baby that we had lost was in the room with me and saying it was going to be OK."
The babies arrived on 10 August 2021. Lilo, who was conceived first, was also born first weighing 6lbs 12oz. Imelda then followed, weighing 7lbs 3oz.
Odalis said: "When I held them and knew that they were OK, I can't even explain the feeling.
"I love my family and my husband, but I had never experienced love and happiness like that."
Tom Sanders