British woman with two wombs gives birth to triplets

LONDON -- A woman with two wombs has given birth to triplets, in what is believed to the first case of its kind, a hospital official said Friday.

Hannah Kersey, 23, gave birth to three girls in September, said Richard Dottle, a spokesman for Southmead Hospital in Bristol where the babies were born. The children spent nine weeks in the hospital.

The girls -- identical twins delivered from one womb and a single baby from the other -- were delivered by Caesarean section seven weeks early, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Kersey and her partner Mick Faulkner said they were "over the moon" at how healthy and happy the girls were.

"They are three lovely and incredible children, all with very different personalities," the BBC quoted Kersey as saying.

"There haven't been any similar account where three healthy babies are born of two wombs," said Yakoub Khalaf, a consulting gynecologist at Guy's and St. Thomas's Hospital. He said that multiple pregnancies tended to be risky, and that delivering triplets under such abnormal circumstances was even riskier.

Separate or partially joined wombs are uncommon, although not rare -- about one woman in 1,000 has them, according to Khalaf.

Pregnancies are possible, although they tend to result in premature birth more than half the time. One pregnancy in each womb is almost unheard of -- Khalaf said he had identified only 70 cases over the past 50 years worldwide -- and triplets delivered from two wombs has never before been recorded.

"This lady was extremely lucky," said Khalaf.

Kersey was not immediately available for comment on Friday but the Southwest News Agency based in Filton, England, said it had bought the rights to her story. It would not disclose the amount.