Sophie Small fell pregnant while already pregnant and gave birth to twins conceived a month apart. (Kennedy News and Media) (Kennedy)
A mum was overjoyed to discover she was pregnant while she was already expecting, after conceiving her twins 28 days apart.
Sophie Small, 30, a swimming instructor from Leominster, Herefordshire welcomed Holly and Darcy, now two, on the same day despite them being conceived one month apart due to an incredibly rare phenomenon known as superfetation, where a new pregnancy occurs after the first one.
Sophie and her husband Jonathan, 34, an accountant who already have a son named Oscar, six, were trying for another baby when they conceived Holly after a party in December 2019.
Although Sophie had an inkling that she was already pregnant, the couple decided to keep trying just in case and conceived Darcy a month later.
Sophie pictured while pregnant with the twins. (Kennedy News and Media) (Kennedy)
The then mum-of-one was thrilled when she took a pregnancy test a month later and discovered it was positive, but, having suffered from extreme morning sickness, Sophie decided to go for a seven-week scan to check on the health of the baby.
The scan revealed that she was pregnant with twins but the two babies were different sizes and doctors were confused as to why.
Discovering the truth
The couple only discovered the twins weren’t conceived at the same time after their birth in August 2020 when Darcy was born weighing 4lbs 2oz and her sister followed two minutes later weighing 6lbs 1oz.
Though she suspected she may be pregnant after she started suffering from headaches, Sophie says her and her husband carried on trying in case she was mistaken about her symptoms.
Sophie Small conceived Holly and Darcy, now two, one month apart due to an incredibly rare phenomenon known as superfetation. (Kennedy News and Media) (Kennedy)
“After I conceived Darcy, the sickness was horrific,” she explains. “I was hospitalised eight times in seven weeks and spent 120 hours on a drip.
“I was carrying two babies who were growing at different stages but at the time we didn’t know that,” she continues.
“They couldn’t work out why I was so sick.”