A woman can be impregnated by two men simultaneously, resulting in fraternal twins with different fathers. This rare phenomenon is called heteropaternal superfecundation.
Understanding Heteropaternal Superfecundation
This occurs when a woman releases multiple eggs during a single menstrual cycle. If she has sexual intercourse with two different men around the time of ovulation, each egg can be fertilized by a sperm from a different man. This leads to the development of two separate embryos, resulting in fraternal twins (non-identical) with different genetic fathers.
- Multiple Eggs: The key is the release of more than one egg (ovulation). A single egg can only be fertilized by one sperm.
- Simultaneous Fertilization: The eggs must be fertilized within a short timeframe of each other.
- Fraternal Twins: The resulting twins are fraternal, meaning they are genetically distinct, like any other siblings.
It's important to note that this is an extremely rare event. While documented cases exist (as evidenced by numerous references and news articles), it is not a common occurrence.
Examples and Insights from Research:
- The article "Twins from different fathers: A heteropaternal superfecundation case" details one documented case, highlighting the rarity of the phenomenon.
- BabyCenter highlights that while rare, documented cases exist proving its possibility.
- Several Quora threads (https://www.quora.com/What-happens-when-you-have-sex-with-two-men-at-the-same-time-and-become-pregnant-Can-both-sperm-impregnate-you, https://www.quora.com/If-a-woman-gets-pregnant-from-two-men-does-the-baby-get-the-genes-of-both-of-the-men-Does-the-woman-have-twins-or-will-the-baby-only-have-the-gene-of-one-of-them, https://www.quora.com/Can-a-woman-get-pregnant-from-two-different-men-on-the-same-day-and-have-twins-one-from-each-like-a-cat) and Reddit threads (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1avf735/if-a-woman-has-sex-with-two-different-guys_on/, https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/11gwf7u/if_two_people_have_sex_with-a_woman_in_the_same/) discuss the possibility and rarity of this scenario.
