A Pennsylvania woman who was already pregnant conceived twins one week later — a one-in-a-billion medical anomaly.
Deonna Fletcher, a marketing coordinator in Philadelphia, experienced superfetation, meaning she had gotten pregnant twice within a week.
The first embryo was conceived six days before the other two, in an event so rare the Cleveland Clinic says, ‘your chance of experiencing superfetation is near zero.’
There are only about 10 confirmed cases in the world and all of them involved two children conceived at different times.
Ms Fletcher felt like ‘everything had fallen into place’ after she and her fiancé, Antonio Livington, found out they were expecting a baby in 2019.
Deonna Fletcher, a marketing consultant in Philadelphia, became pregnant twice within six days. She gave birth to three daughters on January 18, 2021
Doctors believe that Ms Fletcher ovulated twice, which allowed the twins to be conceived after their older sister of six days
About four weeks into her pregnancy, she had a transvaginal ultrasound, which revealed one fetus.
However, about two weeks later, she started experiencing ‘terrible’ pains in her lower abdomen. She worried that she was having a miscarriage and rushed to the emergency room.
A second transvaginal ultrasound revealed two more babies – Ms Fletcher was having triplets.
”How can that be possible?’ I asked the person doing the sonogram,’ she told Insider. ‘The previous scan had been very thorough. There’d been no doubt there was just one baby.’
However, Ms Fletcher had experienced irregular periods her whole life.
Sometimes, she would have two per month, and other times, she wouldn’t have one at all. The doctor said that she must have ovulated twice, allowing for multiple pregnancies.
‘Antonio and I were shocked,’ she said. ‘There was a lot to process. We’d never heard of getting pregnant when you’re already pregnant. But the doctors went on to confirm that it was a case of superfetation.’
This happens when a woman experiences two menstrual cycles back to back, each resulting in a pregnancy. For this to happen, the woman’s body would release an egg during her first cycle. After having sex, that egg would become fertilized and turn into an embryo. The embryo then implants into the uterine lining.
During the next period, the same thing takes place, and the new embryo joins the one already growing in the uterus.
Typically, hormones change during pregnancy to prevent ovulation, which is when the ovaries release an egg.
Superfetation is so rare that experts aren’t sure what causes it. Most cases involve the use of assistive reproductive technologies (ART), which includes fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization (IVF), but it’s still extremely unlikely with those methods.
Ms Fletcher and her partner, Antonio Livington, welcomed a baby boy, Antonio Junior, in October 2022. The couple have said that they aren’t planning on having any more children
The girls – Dream, Amani, and Amber – are all ‘perfectly healthy’ and ‘a bundle of energy,’ Ms Fletcher said
In Ms Fletcher’s case, the two ‘younger’ babies turned out to be identical twins. ‘A specialist said that my pain early on was related to my uterus expanding so rapidly,’ she said. ‘It had needed to make room for three babies.’
Six months into the pregnancies, both of her waters broke, and she was put on bed rest for about two months. On January 18, 2021, she gave birth to three girls: Dream, Amani, and Amber.
Dream, who was the first to be conceived, weighed three pounds. Twins Amber and Amani were three and four pounds heavier, respectively.
The triplets spent more than a month in the NICU, though all are ‘perfectly healthy’ now at two and a half years old. ‘They are a bundle of energy,’ Ms Fletcher said.
Ms Fletcher and Mr Livington also welcomed a baby boy, Antonio Junior, in October 2022. They do not plan to have any more children.
‘It’s tiring, but it’s fun. Still, Antonio, a photographer, and I are done in terms of having more kids,’ Ms Fletcher said.
‘Three girls — two of whom were very unexpected — and a baby boy are more than enough.’
