An Alabama woman gave birth to twins at UAB Hospital, becoming the second woman with a double uterus to birth one baby from each uterus at the state’s largest hospital in recent months.

Shellie Pascoe gave birth to Kaylee and Kamden Pascoe, on March 6, during a scheduled Caesarian section at 39 weeks. She and her husband, John, then spent three days in the hospital before driving their babies home to Dothan in their minivan.

For the couple, it was a difficult path to become parents. Pascoe had two miscarriages in the past two years, which is how she first learned that she has a rare condition, called uterus didelphys or double uterus.

“When we found out about my condition, we were informed about the higher risk of pregnancy complications and potential fertility issues,” Pascoe said in a UAB press release.

She and her husband feared they would not be able to have children, so they were stunned to learn of her double pregnancy.

“It sounded kind of like a joke,” she said to AL.com. “I didn’t even know that that was a possibility, medically speaking.”

Pascoe’s is a rare case. Experts estimate that one in a million women will have a double pregnancy in two uteruses, according to a press release from UAB. About three in 1,000 women have double uteruses.

“I have cared for several women with a double uterus; however, the only time I’d heard of someone with a baby in each uterus was on a television show,” said Dr. Brian Brocato, associate professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. “We see high-risk and unique pregnancies daily, but I knew Shellie’s case was on a whole new level.”

And yet the hospital recently saw another set of twins, Roxi and Rebel, born to a mother with a double uterus, Kelsey Hatcher, after 20 hours in labor.

Pascoe’s doctors had some concerns that making two incisions during the C-section could cause excessive blood loss.

“Thankfully, the babies were positioned to where we could get both out with one larger incision,” said Brocato.

“Kaylee, who was in the right uterus, came out first, followed by Kamden only two minutes later.”

Pascoe, a physical therapist for the Army, is on maternity leave and home with the twins, who are now about 6 weeks old. Her husband is back at work after three weeks of paternity leave from his job at an IT company.

Pascoe said the twins are different from one another. Kamden, the boy, is physically strong, very active and likes to move and go outside. Kaylee, the girl, is more relaxed, and quiet, and likes to cuddle.

Hatcher and Pascoe, the moms who recently gave birth to twins at UAB, are in touch through relatives who attend their churches, according to UAB.

“Connecting with Kelsey, being able to follow her journey and seeing her babies come out healthy provided us hope,” said Pascoe.

Hatcher had had three previous pregnancies, according to UAB. Her doctor, Shweta Patel, told AL.com in 2023 that she hypothesized that Hatcher released two eggs that were fertilized, each in a different uterus, during the same ovulation cycle. Typically twins are fertilized in one uterus.

“I think it is safe to call the girls fraternal twins,” Dr. Richard Davis, a second obstetrician working with Hatcher at UAB said. “At the end of the day, it was two babies in one belly at the same time. They just had different apartments.”

Pascoe says she has not ruled out the possibility of having more children, she said she sees a double uterus as a positive.

“I’m still kind of in disbelief that I was able to carry those two babies and that they are happy and healthy,” she said to AL.com. “I will look back on it and see it as an adventure that we got to go through.”