A mum who 'gave up' trying for more kids after being told she only had a five percent chance of conceiving has now revealed how she had her 'miracle' twins after falling pregnant not once but twice in one week.
Mum Alina Luca said she'd always dreamed of having a big family but her chances were impacted by an underactive thyroid, and after two years of trying for a second child with her partner Rick Carmea, she decided to give up.
However, a month later the 30-year-old found out she was pregnant – and the good news didn't stop there. During her 12-week scan, Alina discovered she was actually expecting two babies that had been conceived one week apart.
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The incredibly rare phenomenon is known as superfetation and is when a second, new pregnancy occurs during an initial pregnancy and can occur days or weeks after the first one.
Alina believes her experience was nothing short of a 'miracle' given she'd prayed for just one more child. Nine months later, she gave birth to her two daughters Ellie and Millie Carmea in March.
Alina, who lives in East London, said: "I got pregnant while I was already pregnant. I didn't think it was possible.
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"I asked the doctor 'are you serious? How can this be possible to get pregnant when you are pregnant already?'
"They said that it was very rare but it happens. We found out they were conceived one week apart because one of them was smaller on the scan.
"It's a miracle that this happened to me.
"We prayed for one baby and said 'if it doesn't happen we can't do anything about it', and then this happened after one month [of stopping to try] I found out I was pregnant.
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"It was a big shock for us. After I processed it and did some research I was really in shock and was like 'wow, it really did happen and it really did happen to me'. It's really amazing."
The mum-of-three, who was already mum to a nine-year-old girl, found out she was expecting again last August.
Alina said: "I always wanted a big family. I couldn't get pregnant for two years and I gave up. They told me I had a five to ten percent chance of getting pregnant because I have Hypothyroidism.
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"Last year I said I'd give up because I was upset and I was thinking there was no point trying again and if it will happen, it will happen. And after one month I found out I was pregnant. It was funny. I cried tears of joy because I was so happy.
"I called my sister and asked her to look at the pregnancy test to see if it was positive because I thought I was dreaming."
Alina gave birth to her two daughters on 15 March this year, delivering her little girls at 35 weeks.
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Now, the full-time-mum has since set up an Instagram page in a bid to raise awareness of superfetation pregnancies.
Alina explained: "The pregnancy was very hard and painful. I thought my back would break because my belly was so big.
"I'm small. My skin was so stretched and I had so many marks and was thinking my belly would explode soon. I was over the moon to hold them for the first time, it was amazing to be honest.
"You can see everything like double – not just because of having two babies, but everything – your emotions and you're more sensitive. When I tell people they look at me and they think that I'm crazy and wonder how it was possible.
"If someone told me before, I think I'd be the same."
Topics: Parenting
Niamh Spence