The woman says the registered father “takes care of both of them, helps me a lot and gives them all the necessary support.”
In a medical rarity, a 19-year-old woman from Mineiros, Goiás, Brazil, gave birth to twin boys after having sex with two different men. The phenomenon, scientifically known as heteroparental superfecundation, has only around 20 recorded cases worldwide.
The young mother, who chose to remain anonymous, had believed one man was the father of both children. But when her babies turned eight months old, a DNA test revealed he was biologically related to only one of them.
“I was surprised by the results. I didn’t know this could happen. The babies are very similar,” she told local media. Realizing she had been intimate with another man on the same day, she contacted him for testing — which confirmed he was the father of the other twin.
Despite the unusual parentage, only one man is officially listed on the twins’ birth certificates. The woman says the registered father “takes care of both of them, helps me a lot and gives them all the necessary support.”
Dr. Túlio Jorge Franco, who studied the case, explained:
“Such pregnancy occurs when two eggs from the same mother are fertilised by sperm from different men. The babies share their mother’s genetic material, but they grow in different placentas. It’s extremely rare — about one in a million.”
He said, “The pregnancy was super smooth, without any complications. The boys were born healthy and have never had health problems.”