In a bizarre incident, an anonymous 19-year-old woman from Minerios in Goias, Brazil, delivered twins who had different fathers.
A paternity test confirmed it after the woman had doubts about the father of the children.
The woman allegedly collected DNA from the person who she thought was the father, but despite taking two tests her jaws dropped when she learned that the twins may have different bio-dads, reported Daily Mail.
After the anonymous woman collected DNA to do a paternity test from whom she thought was the father, the results only came back positive for one of the twins.
She later remembered that she had sex with a different man on the same day and when the second person took the test, it turned out that he was the second twin’s father. The phenomenon is scientifically named heteroparental superfecundation.
What is Heteropaternal superfecundation?
Heteropaternal superfecundation occurs when a mother releases two eggs that are then fertilized by two sperm cells from different men.
Her doctor Tulio Jorge Franco explained, “It is possible to happen when two eggs from the same mother are fertilized by different men. The babies share the mother’s genetic material, but they grow in different placentas.”
He emphasized that the case is extremely rare, and a ‘one in a million’ situation and he did not think he would see one like it in his life.
Local media reported that the children are now 16 months old but Dr Franco only spoke about the case recently. As per the report, one of the fathers looks after both children.
Women usually have to have sex with two different men within a day before or after ovulation for both eggs to be fertilized. It has been claimed that there are only about 20 similar cases in the world.
Although heteropaternal superfecundation is rare in humans, it is relatively common in other animals, including dogs, cats, cows, and rodents.