Twins Being Concieved at Two Different Times???possible??

Updated on August 16, 2011
M.F. asks from Youngstown, OH
20 answers

I was talkig to a friend of mine a little bit ago and she asked me if I have ever heard of twins being concieved 6 weeks apart. Apparently her friend has twins and this is supposedly the case. She delivered early one baby was supposedly 27 weeks and the other was like 18 weeks but both delivered on the same day. Is this even possible? Does anyone know or have ever heard of this? It doesn't sound possible to me I assumed the egg either split or two were fertilized. I could be wrong..it has happened before.

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So What Happened?

Yes both babies have made it so far. My friend said that both babies just got taken off of their heart monitors. I don't know the mother at all and we didn't get into too many specifics talking about it.
@April I didn't even do the math I just went by what my friend said. She is probably off on the weeks I thought 18 weeks was too early to survive also.

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N.F.

answers from Seattle on

Only thing I've ever heard of that explained this is a double uterus. When I first heard that, I immediately googled it to see if it was true... VERY POSSIBLE!!!

4 moms found this helpful
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A.G.

answers from Albuquerque on

Most fraternal twins are concieved at different times, just not usually that far apart. After my first sonogram with my twins the dr placed my son at being about 4days older based on size, my b-i-l's twins were concieved I think a week apart.

3 moms found this helpful

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K.B.

answers from Tulsa on

I heard about 2 eggs fertilizing on the same cycle and even by two different dads(one was white, one was black). Of course, it was on Maury.

5 moms found this helpful

M.P.

answers from Sacramento on

It is possible, it happened to a friend of mine only they were only a couple of weeks apart. Both of her ovaries released eggs at different times, one got fertilized then the other. I haven't heard about it being so far apart like that, but I imagine that it is possible!

Hope all goes well for the babies.

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C.W.

answers from Phoenix on

i have heard of this.....some women also have a double uterus. could this have been the case?

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A.B.

answers from Washington DC on

It's entirely possible- but I would say that 6 weeks apart is possible, but not probable. If this did happen, it would be 2 eggs (fraternal twins), not 1 egg splitting (identical twins).

Also, 27 weeks and 18 weeks are 9 weeks apart- that's even more less likely.

And a baby being born at 18 weeks and surviving is impossible- I think the earliest surviving preterm baby was 21.5 weeks.

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L.R.

answers from Wausau on

I had a friend who delivered two babies 4 weeks apart two different fathers but she had something with her uterus that made it possible I guess. Kinda strange. The one baby was 2 mo younger but she delivered it 4 weeks early yet 4 weeks after her first

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K.F.

answers from New York on

This is possible but very rare.

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S.W.

answers from Amarillo on

It is possible. I had a younger cousin (teen at the time) who had twin boys but their fathers were different and each kid looked like the dad. So it can happen but I think it was within a short time between the intercourses. But it did happen. These kids should be in their 30s by now. I lost track of her a long time back.

So these things do happen.

The other S.

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G.W.

answers from Orlando on

Yes, it is very possible...as one mom mentioned, there were a set of twin boys born in England not so long ago, one clearly had a white father and the other had a black father. It would have had to have been two separate eggs because an egg splitting would produce identical twins. It is funny that you should ask this question because my husband and I were just joking about this on Saturday. We have twin boys who are as fraternal as they come and I was laughing that although we would never know, wouldn't it be funny if they had actually been conceived a few days apart? :-)

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K.P.

answers from New York on

I guess it's possible, but my understanding is that once your body's hormones send out the "I'm pregnant" signal, the ovaries stop releasing eggs. I could be wrong on that (my last biology class was at least 10 years ago).

It's possible to have fraternal twins conceived at different times, especially with an irregular cycle or fertility treatments. In theory our bodies can release eggs on two different days, possibly a few weeks apart before implantation and that both could be fertilized, implanted and developed.

My guess here is that they may have been conceived at different times, but not nearly that far apart.

1 mom found this helpful
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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

As far as I understand it babies cannot survive if they are born at less than 25 weeks. It is unheard of. I googled "can a baby born at 18 weeks survive?" and all the websites said no. There were some that said 21 weeks though. I would think she was off on the weeks some.

I think that twins that are not identical can be fertilized at different times.

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J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

Haven't heard of six weeks, I have heard of four. Sometimes the signals get crossed and you continue to ovulate. The chances of conception are very small of course but still possible. There is soooo much against it.

Oh two were fertilized, just not at the same time. :p

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M.G.

answers from Chicago on

Yes, it can happen, though extremely rare. Sometimes an egg can be released when already pregnant, fertilize, and implant. Although, I really do think her dates are off. An 18 week old fetus cannot survive outside of the womb.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.K.

answers from Phoenix on

There is a condition where a woman can have 2 uterus ( forget tech. name). Basically, there is a division present between the 2. I believe that's the only way it could be possible. The woman would have 2 separate cycles. A woman that had 1 uterus , it would be impossible for her to ovulate while pregnant withe the "1st twin".

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E.B.

answers from Seattle on

I have not heard of this being fertilized and what at different times.

I have heard of the two different guys.

Did the littler baby make it? That seems so bizarre.

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J.C.

answers from New York on

It's pretty impossible for an 18 week baby to survive. My BFF lost a baby at 22 weeks and they told her that evern the best hospitals in NYC can't save a baby less than 24 weeks and if they do, the chances of "issues" is sadly very good.

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B.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

I've read about babies being born 30 days apart (Ripley's Believe it or Not).

Good luck to you and yours.

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