‘My son was in no rush’: Woman miraculously gives birth to twins with 2.5 months in between

A woman from Kazakhstan has given birth to two children, two-and-a-half months apart, due to her body’s unique features. Medics say it’s a miracle that both babies are alive and well.

It usually takes around nine months to produce a new human life, but’s not the case for Liliya Konovalova from the town of Uralsk in northern Kazakhstan, near the Russian border.

The woman, who has a rare uterus duplex condition, gave birth to a girl on May 24. Born at just 25 weeks, she weighed only 850 grams and required treatment in intensive care. “But my son was in no rush to come out into the world,” Liliya said. The boy drew his first breath two-and-a-half-months later, on August 9. Weighing 2.9kg, his mother described him as a “true Bogatyr” – a strong warrior hero from Russian folk tales.

The chances of a healthy child being born to a woman with Liliya’s condition are one-in-50-million, the Kazakh Health Ministry said as it shared the news. Well aware of the risk, she said her pregnancy was difficult and that she was absolutely terrified when labor began. “But thanks to our doctors, we prevailed… what they did is a miracle. My kids now weigh around 3kg and we’re getting ready to be discharged from the hospital.”

The happy parents called the girl Liliya after her mother, while the boy was named Maxim. A seven-year-old sister is waiting for them at home.

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