Natural and IVF Twins

Victoria and Simon Caffery had already experienced significant heartbreak on their journey to becoming parents, including several miscarriages.

During another fertility treatment cycle, Victoria was preparing for an embryo transfer. She had received a trigger injection, but there was concern that the transfer might be cancelled because her uterine lining was thin.

Thinking the transfer was unlikely to go ahead, Victoria and Simon decided to try to conceive naturally.

Then came an unexpected call.

Her results were just within the clinic's requirements, and the embryo transfer could proceed after all.

So they went ahead with the transfer.

What nobody knew at the time was that Victoria had also conceived naturally.

Both pregnancies continued.

At an early ultrasound, Victoria learned that she was carrying twins. Initially, because the circumstances were so unusual, it was thought that the transferred IVF embryo may simply have divided to produce identical twins.

But when the boys were born, Victoria said they looked noticeably different.

Their sons, Hugo and Carter, had apparently begun their journeys in completely different ways: one from the embryo transferred during IVF and the other from natural conception around the same time.

For Victoria and Simon, the timing carried another layer of meaning.

The due date of a pregnancy they had previously lost had been 1 May 2024.

Their twins were given a due date of 1 May 2025—exactly one year later.

Hugo and Carter ultimately arrived several weeks early, but the family were able to take them home from hospital on 1 May 2025.

After the miscarriages, fertility treatment and uncertainty that had come before them, Victoria described the family as incredibly grateful.

PLEASE NOTE

Every fertility story is different.

This story has been curated from publicly reported information and reflects one family's individual experience. It is shared for education and awareness and should not be interpreted as medical advice or as an indication of what another person's fertility journey will look like.

Reference

Herald Sun (2025). The one-in-10,000 miracle that gave a Melbourne couple their twin babies. Melbourne, Australia.