After Years of Trying to Conceive, Twin Sisters Give Birth on the Same Day

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:30:00 GMT

Friends and family could hardly believe the coincidence when twin sisters Kristin Harris and Allison McGehee both unexpectedly got pregnant with their second babies around the same time. But they were really shocked when the babies, due about two weeks apart, decided to make their grand entrance into the world on the exact same day.

Because of complications in her pregnancy, Harris had scheduled a C-section for Saturday. As she and her husband were on their way to the hospital, McGehee’s water broke, almost two weeks before her due date. The sisters’ shared obstetrician—and their parents—had a very busy day in store for them.

What makes the coincidence (or twin bond) even more striking is that both sisters’ pregnancies were huge surprises. Harris and her husband had spent ten years undergoing fertility treatments before they had their first daughter; a natural pregnancy out of the blue was the last thing they were expecting. Similarly, the McGehees had spent years trying to conceive again after the birth of their son, now seven. They had finally given up trying, believing it was impossible to have another child.

Harris' daughter, Madelyn Elese, and McGehee's son, Jack Davis, are both in good health--and apparently are dying to meet to each other.

Photo: The Jackson Sun

Anything to Conceive

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Cindy Chupack tried visualizing sperm with her husband’s face on them. She tried standing on her head. She tried electroacupuncture, which involved attaching spark plugs to the needles. She tried going on vacation with her husband and just enjoying sex for a while, you know, like they used to before they started racing her biological clock. She tried IVF, suppositories, hormone injections.

She tried an all-red meat diet, and then, when she read somewhere that red meat actually hinders pregnancy while she had a steak on the grill, she ate her stale gingerbread house in her frustration and hunger.

Like many women, Chupack, who recently wrote about her conception adventures for O Magazine, began the whole procreating process relatively late. It was not until she was 40 that she fell in love with the right man and had real longings for children—which was just fine by her, but not so fine by her body.

But, also like many women, Chupack will not give up trying. If you think that the gingerbread house incident put her over the edge, well, you’ve probably never tried to conceive.

Image: John Cuneo/O Magazine

Strollerderby : trying to conceive

After Years of Trying to Conceive, Twin Sisters Give Birth on the Same Day

Anything to Conceive