The little miracle of Kassel: Twins conceived at different times?
Created: 12/25/2022, 12:20 p.m
By: Anna Laura Weyh
Andreea Popa and Martin Richter with their twins in the pharmacy in the Wilhelmshöhe district of Kassel.
© Anna Weyh
A pharmacist from Kassel has twins - but probably not ordinary twins.
According to the gynecologist, the babies were conceived at two different times.
Kassel – It is the end of 2021. Andreea Popa and Martin Richter want a third child.
When the pregnancy test is positive, everything seems perfect for the couple.
But something is different from the previous pregnancies.
"I felt a lot worse," says Andreea Popa, who runs the Kurbad pharmacy in Kassel's Bad Wilhelmshöhe district.
The complaints are stronger.
Your gynecologist Dr.
Ingo Wandura knows why: Andreea Popa is having twins – even very special twins, reports hna.de.
"The two children are different ages, they were conceived at different times," says Wandura.
The suspicion of so-called overpregnancy, also known as superfecundation, came to him because one embryo was about twice as large as the other at the first ultrasound, according to Wandura.
"This is a real one-off.
A gynecologist's life is not enough to experience that," he says.
What is not uncommon in rabbits, for example, is almost never the case in humans.
Twins conceived at different times?
Age difference of more than a week
However, his suspicions cannot be proven with certainty.
The gynecologist believes that there is an age difference of just over a week between the twins at the beginning of the pregnancy.
"I've never seen anything like it, so there was a big question mark at first," says Wandura.
It is a time of uncertainty for Andreea Popa and her partner.
“One of the babies was very small to begin with.
It was not certain whether both would survive the pregnancy," says the 38-year-old.
The family: Martin Richter and Andreea Popa with their twins Gloria-Rosalie and Leonhard-Clemens and the older siblings Sofia and Victor.
© anna weyh
On July 23 of this year, in the 37th week of pregnancy, she gave birth to two healthy children: Leonhard-Clemens (42 centimeters and 2000 grams) and Gloria-Rosalie (49 centimeters and 3000 grams).
After ten days in the Kassel clinic, the family, who lives in Hessisch Lichtenau, was able to go home.
The two babies keep the parents and their siblings Sofia (7) and Victor (4) busy.
Overpregnancy is difficult to detect
Superfecundation, also known as overpregnancy, is the fertilization of a second egg cell during an existing pregnancy.
The second egg is fertilized in the same menstrual cycle as the first.
But that can hardly be proven.
It is not an indication if a child is significantly larger at birth.
According to doctors, it can only be proven with certainty if the babies have different fathers - i.e. the woman is pregnant by one man, sleeps with another and also becomes pregnant by him.
Even rarer is superfetation, in which another ovulation occurs before the second fertilization.
The hormones actually prevent that.
According to international journals, only ten real human cases are known worldwide.
Rare twins: home has become too small for family
"It's not easy, but with grandma's help we can do it quite well," says Andreea Popa.
It is also a challenge for the big sister and the big brother.
Sofia says: "It's a bit stressful with the babies, but also a bit good." In any case, she and Victor don't want to be without the twins anymore.
Her current home in the Werra-Meißner district has become too small for the family due to the surprising addition of the twins.
Because of the location of Andreea Popa's pharmacy in Kassel, they also want to move to the documenta city and are looking for a house there.
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Ingo Wandura Gynecologist Kassel © Weyh, Anna-Laura
Rare twins in Kassel: "We actually wanted to get married before the twins were born"
"The babies still sleep in our parents' bedroom.
But when they get bigger, we no longer have enough space,” says Martin Richter.
The 38-year-old is currently on parental leave and takes care of the children when his partner works in her pharmacy.
But now the family is looking forward to the first Christmas together for the six of them.
And next year another highlight awaits the family: the wedding of Andreea Popa and Martin Richter.
"We actually wanted to get married before the twins were born, but it wasn't possible," says Martin Richter.
"We'll find time for it next year," the couple is certain.
(Anna Laura Weyh)
A different couple from northern Hesse is expecting twins for the second time in a short time.
