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An Australian woman was able to conceive twice in a span of ten days due to a rare pregnancy condition called superfoetation. Prior to conception, the woman was being treated for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) with hormone shots, a treatment that has not been established as a factor that led to the rare condition.

Katie Hill delivered two healthy babies, Olivia and Charlotte, who are not twins but siblings with only just ten days age gap. Both babies were born at the same time, but at ten months old, differ in sizes, body weights and gestational milestones as reported in BBC News.

Hill has been trying to conceive for years and was even told that she might never get pregnant. This may be because PCOS is one of the leading causes of female infertility. The condition makes it difficult for women to ovulate, thereby preventing conception.

There are many factors contributing to PCOS, which may be attributed to genetic make up, presence of too much insulin, and even obesity. However, many women with PCOS were able to successfully conceive with the help of various hormone treatments like what happend with the Australian woman's case.

Eggs normally develop in fluid-filled sacs in the ovaries, which are also called follicles or cysts. When the egg matures, the ovaries release the eggs, which are then fertilized by the sperm. PCOS prevents the ovaries from breaking due to abnormal amounts of androgen, the male hormone.

On the other hand, superfoetaion is a rare condition that there are only a handful of reported cases. It occurs when two eggs are fertilized in two separate times, but within the same cycle. Superfoetation is not like conceiving twins where two eggs is released at the same time or one egg splitting in two.

Another documented case of superfoetation is in the United States where Julia Grovenburg conceived again after just one week of getting pregnant as reported by the Daily Mail. Like Hill, she was scheduled to deliver her babies all at the same time. Grovenburg was carrying a female fetus and after one week conceived again, this time, a male fetus.

However, there is no medical evidence that links PCOS treatments to superfoetation. The more common result of getting hormone shots is the high incidence of multiple births.