Mother who had twins on the Pill switched birth control... only to have a second set!
WheN emma Power became pregnant with twins despite being on the contraceptive pill, she was determined not to find herself in the same situation again.
She changed her method of contraception, opting for the implant instead, which is seen as more reliable.
But amazingly, despite her precautions, she went on to conceive a second set of twins while using the device.
According to the NhS, the likelihood of having two sets of non-identical twins while using these contraceptive methods is one in three billion. The Multiple Births Foundation said they had ‘never heard of this happening before’.
Doctors said the shock pregnancies were due to Mrs Power and her husband John’s ‘super fertility’.
The pair have since undergone a sterilisation and vasectomy after they were warned it was likely they would experience yet another multiple pregnancy, even with contraceptives.
Mrs Power, 30, said: ‘The doctors said that I must be incredibly fertile and if we just relied on contraceptives again, then I was likely to fall pregnant with yet another multiple birth – and we
Odds of one in three billion
couldn’t risk having yet another set of twins.’ Mrs Power, from York, met her husband while at college. At 19 she discovered she was pregnant, even though she had been taking the Pill.
‘It was a complete surprise when I found out I was pregnant,’ she said.
‘I had been taking the Pill for a while and thought there was no way that I could possibly fall pregnant. I made sure I took it each day, and I hadn’t been ill.
‘When I went for my scan ... the sonographer told me that she could see two heartbeats. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.’
After giving birth to Connor and Kyle, now ten, Mrs Power decided to change her contraceptive method to the implant, which is inserted into the arm and automatically releases hormones.
She said: ‘I’d fallen pregnant once whilst I was taking the Pill, so I couldn’t risk it happening again.’
But five years later she started feeling unwell and decided to take a pregnancy test. It showed she was pregnant again, despite the implant – which is supposed to be more than 99 per cent effective
When she went for her scan, she was in for yet another double shock. ‘I’d had some bleeding, so I wasn’t sure whether the sonographer was going to find a heartbeat at all,’ she said.
‘So when she said there were two again in there, it was such a relief, but such a shock again too. [John] didn’t believe me until I actually showed him the scan photo with two heartbeats on.’
After Mrs Power gave birth to Jessica and Ruby, now four, she was sterilised by her doctors.
But they warned that her high fertility meant there was a small chance her body would reverse the operation, and recommended that Mr Power also have a vasectomy. Mrs Power said: ‘Doctors said I must produce at least two eggs every time I ovulated each month, so there was a high risk of me falling pregnant with multiples again.
‘They said that after my fallopian tubes had been cut and tied, there was a small risk of them mending themselves again, so they advised that John have a vasectomy operation too, just to be on the safe side.’
She added: ‘I do feel very lucky to have my two sets of twins – even if they ... were a complete surprise.’