Woman with two belly buttons said doctors told her she absorbed her twin in the womb

A woman has explained how doctors believe she may have 'absorbed her twin in the womb' after she was born with two belly buttons.

Appearing in the red chair on The Graham Norton Show on Friday, Jenny, from Wicklow in Ireland, revealed she was born with an extra belly button.

BBC

The red chair segment, which appears at the end of The Graham Norton Show, sees Norton meet members of the public who are appearing in the red chair to tell an interesting story or secret.

If the story is gripping enough, they are allowed to tell it in full - but if Norton and his guests get bored halfway through, they can pull a lever which sees the chair flip back - and the storyteller is sent flying.

But Norton certainly didn't need to pull the lever for Jenny's story, as she went straight into her anecdote by explaining her second belly button even gets her free drinks.

"I have two belly buttons and I use them to get free drinks," Jenny began.

Norton was quick to clarify, asking Jenny if she had two umbilical cords, or if one belly button simply looked like a belly button.

"Doctors think I could have absorbed my twin in the womb," Jenny added.

Vanishing twin syndrome is a type of miscarriage that can occur when an embryo stops developing, and the tissue is absorbed by the mother or the surviving embryo.

Vanishing twin syndrome can occur before 12 weeks - and therefore before many women's first ultrasound scan - meaning in some cases, both parents and doctors are never aware that there were two embryos.

Healthline explains that vanishing twin syndrome often happens for the same reason as most early miscarriages - chromosomal abnormalities.

BBC

Jenny went on to continue with the rest of her story, explaining that on one birthday, she received free drinks 'all night' for showing her unusual addition to a member of staff who had a fear of belly buttons.

"I showed them to her and she completely freaked out and started crying and left and they high-fived me and gave me free [drinks] for the rest of the night," Jenny explained.

Norton - as well as his celebrity guests Stormzy, Geena Davis, Stephen Graham and Motsi Mabuse - were all pretty impressed by the story.

If you have been affected by pregnancy loss, you can find help, support and advice at Tommy's.