The triplets born from two wombs
So rare they are a first for Britain
TRIPLETS are rare enough but this bonny trio are believed to be a UK first – they came from two wombs.
Melanie Bassett, who discovered four years ago she has the rare anatomy, was stunned when docs told her she was carrying identical babies in one womb, and another child in the other.
The mum, 32, said: “It was quite crazy.” Brooke and Isabelle, along with their younger triplet Beau, were born in January via caesarean section.
Melanie, who also has two older children, said: “I noticed a difference being pregnant with the triplets. I would often find myself having to deal with them kicking on both sides. One would kick and it would set all of them off.”
The odds of any given woman having twins from separate wombs is estimated at more than a million to one.
There are four known worldwide cases of the condition leading to triplets. This is thought to be the first in the UK.
Melanie found out she has two wombs when she was pregnant with her first child Phoebe.
Having two wombs is known as uterus didelphys. Rather than looking like a normal womb, Melanie’s is heart-shaped and has two chambers. Experts say it usually makes it no harder for a woman to conceive, but slightly increases the risk of miscarriage or premature birth.
Phoebe, now three, was delivered via c-section at 29 weeks, weighing 2lb 3oz.
Two years later Melanie and husband Ben had son Blake, who was born at 34 weeks via c-section, weighing 6lb 5oz. Just two months later, Melanie and 33-year-old electrician Ben discovered she was expecting again.
The triplets were born at 32 weeks – Isabelle was 3lb 3oz, Beau was 3lb 2oz and Brooke was 2lb 10oz. Isabelle left hospital at five weeks while the other two went home at six weeks. Melanie, of Waterlooville, Hants, is excited about tomorrow. She said: “We can’t wait to see their little faces on Christmas morning.”