O que parecia ser apenas mais uma gestação comum mudou completamente após um exame de DNA. Uma mãe de gêmeos descobriu que os filhos tinham pais diferentes, um caso raro que chamou atenção e levantou curiosidade sobre como isso é possível.
Situations like this have been registered in different countries. In Brazil, a young woman from Goiás discovered the condition in 2022, after performing a paternity test. Another similar case occurred in Colombia in 2018, which again brought up the debate about this unusual phenomenon.
Gêmeos de pais diferentes: fenômeno explicado pela medicina
Although it seems unlikely, science explains. The case is known as superfecundação heteropaternal, which occurs when a woman releases more than one ovum in the same menstrual cycle and maintains relationships with different partners in a short period of time.
If each ovum is fertilized by sperm from different men, the twin pregnancy occurs with different fathers. For this to happen, however, a rare combination of factors is needed, such as poliovulation and fertilization within a 36-hour period.
Descoberta geralmente acontece por acaso
Most of the time, the condition is only identified after DNA tests. This was the case in one of the most well-known cases, registered in Colombia. On the occasion, a routine test revealed that only one of the twins had a genetic link with the supposed father.
The confirmation was made through the analysis of genetic markers, a technique that compares fragments of DNA from the mother, the children, and the possible fathers.
