Mum carried dead baby for months so his twin could live Rare condition meant foetus had to stay in womb
AMIDLAND mother has spoken of her heartache over a rare condition that forced her to carry her dead baby for months so that his twin brother would have a chance to live.
Emma Dutton and partner Mark Prince were delighted when they were told they were expecting at a sevenweek private scan.
Eleven weeks later she and Mark went for another scan at Walsall Manor Hospital and were overjoyed to be told they were actually expecting identical boys.
The couple had even started thinking about names when hospital staff dropped the bombshell news that one of their unborn babies was suffering from a rare and life-threatening disease.
Then at 20 weeks they were told that one of the boys had died in the womb, leaving them devastated.
Fears then grew that their other twin could also be at risk.
Emma was told that the only way to save the surviving baby was to carry the deceased foetus in her womb for more than 15 weeks.
The sonographer had told Emma now 30, she was showing signs of twin to twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) – a condition which affects identical twins who share a placenta and can be potentially fatal to both.
It sees one of the twins (the “recipient”) receive a higher flow of blood from their shared placenta than the other (the “donor”).
Emma, from Walsall, who is engaged to Mark, said: “We tried for ages to have a baby, so when we were told it was twins it was amazing.
“To have that news and then be told one of them had died was just absolutely devastating.
“After that, I was convinced the other one too.”
Emma remembered suspecting something was wrong when she was taken into a “little room” at the 18-week scan.
“There was a table and chairs and a little box of tissues and I just knew we were going to hear something awful,” she said. “I knew it didn’t look right.”
“The sonographer said I was showing signs of TTTS and explained a little bit about what it was. From there we were referred to Birmingham Women’s Hospital and we saw Professor Mark Kilby, who is an expert in TTTS.”
Emma said she was told she had Stage 1 TTTS, meaning it was too early for her to undergo laser ablation – a complicated form of surgery where the twins are operated on in the womb.
A week later, the TTTS had progressed to Stage 3. This meant Emma was able to undergo the laser ablation at the hospital.
A scan afterwards revealed babies were doing well. I’d lose that her
IBut sadly, a week later, back at Walsall Manor Hospital, another scan found that Elijah no longer had a heartbeat.
At the time, Emma was 20 weeks and one day pregnant.
“I was absolutely devastated,” Emma said of the news, which was delivered to her and Mark, 34, at the scan on February 29 last year.
“I was staring at the monitor and didn’t think I could see a heartbeat.
“Then the sonographer said there was a problem and went to get the consultant. I just thought, ‘Why has this happened to me?’”
Last June, the twins were born via a planned c-section.
Emma and Mark said a heart-wrenching goodbye to Elijah before bringing Oliver home to Bloxwich to meet the rest of his family.
Now, they are fundraising for the TTTS Registry, which collects data about identical twins with TTTS so medical professionals can learn more about the condition and save lives in the future.
The registry was set up by Tamba (Twins and Multiple Births Association), a leading, UK-wide charity.
Emma and Mark are taking part in the Great Midlands Fun Run – an 8.5 milecourse around Sutton Coldfield – in June to raise money.