Mother defies the odds by having TWO sets of twins without IVF

11/11/2019

Mother defies the odds by having TWO sets of twins without IVF

A super fertile mother has a 700,000 to one family after giving birth to two sets of twins - one identical, one fraternal - with no 'filler baby' in between at incredible odds.

Gina Shelton, 30, and partner Olie Lloyd, 33, from Telford, Shropshire, were left stunned in March when their second natural pregnancy in three years turned out to be another set of twins - despite no history of twins in the family.

With the chances of two consecutive twin pregnancies thought to be in the region of one in 700,000, the stay-at-home mother-of-five admits people joke 'I'm not sitting next to you' for fear of catching her productive genes.

But social media influencer Gina loves her life as a mother to five under six - Phoebe, six, Niamh and Esme, both three, and Arlo and Alby, both three months - and said she wouldn't swap it for the world despite having changed more than 5,550 nappies to date.

Gina said: 'I never thought we would have twins, but when I was pregnant with the girls I was working in a nursery and I was just so tired all the time.

'Everyone around me was always saying I was going to have twins.

'In the waiting room at the hospital Olie and I were looking at cars before the scan and Olie kept joking "forget it, we're going to need a bus!"

'I think we were crying with happiness and panic when we found out, because at the time we were living in a two bedroom flat and Olie was in the process of building our house.

'A year later we found out we were having another set of twins - we couldn't believe it, but neither could our family or even our doctors.

'It's crazy, busy and noisy having five kids but I wouldn't change it for the world.

How common is it to have two sets of twins 

Although most experts claim it is almost impossible to quantify the odds of having consecutive sets of twins because there are 'too many variables' - several reports suggest that the odds could be around one in 700,000.

Inherited genetics and whether a woman has undergone IVF affect her chances of giving birth to twins - with fertility treatment known to increase the risk of getting two babies for the price of one.

The Twin's Trust also adds that a woman who gives birth to a set of non-identical twins is four times more likely to give birth to another set of non-identical twins than other motherss.

'We get through thousands of nappies and we've had to buy a seven-seater car but my family are one in a million."

With no known history of twins on either Gina or Olie's side of the family, the couple's relatives are puzzled as to where their double trouble DNA has come from.

Both sets of twins were conceived naturally and were born by c-section so when the couple announced that a second pair were on the way, their family were in disbelief.

The chances of having two sets of twins without a single 'filler' baby between them is estimated to be in the region of 700,000 to one.

But for super-fertile Gina, it took just four months of trying to conceive to fall pregnant with both her twin girls and twin boys.

The couple estimate as the boys get older and start eating solids, their monthly supermarket shop will cost somewhere in the region of £1,000.

Gina said: 'When we rang Olie's mum and dad to tell them the news about the second set of twins they thought we were having them on.

'They even thought we were just going to send them the scan of Niamh and Esme again and that it was all a joke.

'My nan just kept telling me how sorry she felt for me.

'But I'm able to go into the town centre with all five of my kids, I am very lucky that they are so well behaved.

'As identical twins, Niamh and Esme get a lot of attention while out and about so when people notice the other set too, they can't believe their eyes.

'I think the key is being active, getting up and out and keeping them entertained.

'I get sick of staying in, so I'm always organising things for us to do as a family.'

After her older girls were born, Gina started documenting her life on social media and now has 133,000 Instagram followers who catch up with her life as part of a family of seven.

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Article: 11th November 2019 www.dailymail.co.uk 

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