Little wonders! The twins born at 24 weeks … days af ter they could legally have been aborted
THEIR faces full of mischief, twins Gethin and Amelia look like typical happy toddlers.
Although they are thriving now, however, doctors feared they would not survive after they were born at 24 weeks – the current abortion limit.
Parents Carly Williams and Gareth Jones were warned that the outlook was bleak following the twins’ birth on July 8, 2015.
The couple, from Wrexham, had initially dismissed back pains Miss Williams had been experiencing as part of the pregnancy. When they intensified a week later, her mother Alison noticed the pregnancy bump was moving and took her to hospital where doctors confirmed she was in labour.
Amelia arrived – still in the amniotic sac – weighing 1lb 5oz, and Gethin followed shortly after at 1lb 6oz.
They were taken to neonatal intensive care at Maelor Hospital, Wrexham, where teachers Miss Williams, 27, and Mr Jones, 32, kept a bedside vigil.
The babies were wrapped in special plastic to keep them warm and hooked up to ventilators in incubators, which is when their parents saw them properly for the first time.
‘It all moved so quickly,’ said Miss Williams. ‘Within minutes I was surrounded by 15 to 20 doctors and nurses. I was trying to be brave. I knew I had to be as calm as possible to give them the best chance of survival.’
The babies were moved to Arrowe Park Hospital on Wirral, Merseyside, to receive more specialist care. The newborns fought off sepsis and Amelia needed resuscitating when a heart valve that was not closing properly caused her heart rate to plummet. She later had laser eye surgery to save her sight.
Gethin had a serious bleed on the brain and a collapsed lung. But both babies astonished doctors with their recoveries.
Their parents were able to stay nearby thanks to the Ronald McDonald House Charities, which provides free accommodation for families with children in hospital.
Abortion is legal in the UK before 24 weeks. Studies have shown that around half of babies born at 24 weeks are now surviving thanks to medical advances, although it can often result in disability.
Mr Jones said: ‘Carly and I had to be so strong, mentally. We’d get calls in the middle of the night saying something else had happened, and urging us to get down to the ward. The sound of that phone still stays with me. It was so piercing, and we knew it was always bringing bad news.
‘We were also surrounded by parents whose babies were sadly losing their fight, and having to console them, too. It was the hardest thing we’ll ever have to do.’ Now Amelia and Gethin share a special bond – playing, climbing and learning to speak English and Welsh together. They are due to start nursery in September.
Miss Williams said: ‘Only now we’re out the other side of it do we realise how flabbergasting it is that the twins have escaped with very few issues. Nobody knows what drove them to survive – whether it was medicine, science, or just having Gareth and I there, willing them on.
‘Everyone is amazed by their progress. They are so incredibly resilient. We’re in absolute awe of them both.’
‘Hardest thing we’ll ever do’