Twin girls are born a week after their brother because their mother's contraction simply stopped
- Pregnant with triplets, the woman went into labour twice in a week in China
- She gave birth to her son on February 21 and then her contraction stopped
- Doctors decided it was safer for the girls to stay in their mother's womb
- The twin babies were born on February 28, seven days after their brother
A Chinese woman who was pregnant with triplets has reportedly given birth twice in seven days because her contraction stopped after her first baby had been born.
The mother, identified by her surname Chen, welcomed her twin daughters on February 28 after having given birth to her son on February 21, reported People's Daily Online.
Chen's obstetrician, who has delivered babies for more than 20 years, said she had never seen anything like this in her career.
Chen gave birth in the city of Yichang, China's Hubei Province, according to the People's Daily article, which cited China News.
The woman, whose age is not specified, married her husband in 2012. The couple had trouble conceiving.
With the help of fertility treatment, Chen managed get pregnant with triplets in August 2016.
On February 21, Chen, who was just over 30 weeks pregnant, went into labour. Her water broke in the morning and she was taken to the No.1 People's Hospital of Yichang.
A boy, weighing 3lb 3oz (1.44kg), was born prematurely at around 2pm through a natural birth.
However after her baby son was delivered, Chen's contraction suddenly stopped.
Chen Aihua, the head obstetrician, decided it was safer for the twin girls to remain in their mother's womb.
It wasn't until February 27 when she went into labour again and gave birth to her daughters
The mother went into labour again at around 10pm on February 27. Her twin daughters were successfully delivered through a natural birth on February 28.
Chinese media did not report how much the baby girls weighed or the exact time of their birth.
Obstetrician Chen Aihua explained how the three babies could have been born seven days apart.
Chen was pregnant with dichorionic triplets, which means two of the babies share a placenta and chorion and the other is separate.
Chen Aihua said the two baby girls had shared one placenta while the baby boy had had his own placenta.
The obstetrician added: 'I have been a doctor for more than 20 years. This is the first time I have seen someone going into labour twice with a six-day interval.'
As all of the three babies are premature and suffer from low birth weight. They are currently being observed at the neonatal care unit.
