Mom Conceives Twice in 5 Days in 'Miracle' Pregnancy, Kids Born on Same Day

A California woman has reportedly become pregnant while already pregnant, eventually giving birth to the two children on the same day.

Odalis Martinez, 25, from San Pablo, California, was told by doctors that her babies had been conceived five days apart and weren't technically twins, Kennedy News and Media reported.

Martinez had suffered a miscarriage a few months prior to finding out that she was pregnant in November 2020, after taking a test.

"I was extremely happy that the pregnancy test was positive and we were on our pregnancy journey again," she said.

"I felt really lucky. I know a lot of people that have been trying to conceive and just haven't been able to, so that was also a fear of mine. But thankfully that wasn't our case and I fell pregnant really quickly."

When she went to get her first scan of the baby, Martinez said she was terrified that she would be given bad news again.

"I was just so scared that they were going to tell me, 'Oh, there's no heartbeat' so I was so anxious the whole time."

"The doctor comes in and I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for anything and when she found the first baby and the heartbeat I was crying with so much happiness."

But then the doctor gave her some surprising news—that she was pregnant with two babies, which were conceived at different times in the same week.

"I was just crying with happiness. I felt like the first baby that we had lost was in the room with me and saying it was going to be OK."

A double pregnancy, otherwise known as superfetation, is extremely rare—so rare in fact that there is a lack of data to indicate how frequently it occurs, while some experts are skeptical that it even exists in humans at all.

Superfetation refers to a situation where a woman becomes pregnant a second time with another, younger, foetus, in the face of an ongoing pregnancy.

According to a 2017 study, fewer than 10 human cases of superfetation have ever been reported in the medical literature.

Martinez's two babies, named Lilio and Imelda, were eventually born on the same day—August 10, 2021—weighing six pounds, 12 ounces, and seven pounds, three ounces respectively.

"I feel like it's some sort of miracle that I experienced this double pregnancy. Because of our first experience, it made everything during this pregnancy feel so much more special and magical," Martinez said.

"I just felt like there was so much light after such a dark place. It was the best surprise ever. It was a really beautiful moment to finally be able to hold them in my arms."

While the two babies are not twins, Martinez said they look very similar.

"They're technically not even identical but everyone thinks that they are. They definitely look a lot alike," she said.