Our twin girls were so close to death...they are our little miracles
WHEN doctors told Emma and Nick Elsworth they didn’t expect their unborn twins to live, it was devastating news.
The twins shared a placenta and an amniotic sac, making them so close they could kill each other.their umbilical cords could also have become dangerously tangled.
Doctors offered the couple a termination as the pregnancy was so risky, but they refused, wanting to give their babies a chance at life.
When Amalie and Flora were finally delivered the couple were told their daughters had been just 24 hours from losing their lives, because the cords had become so entangled.
Emma, 32, of Dorset, said: “We were shocked when we found I was pregnant with twins, and even more so when we were told how risky the pregnancy was.
“We tried to stay as positive as we could, but the odds were really stacked against the twins.
“There was no way that we could have terminated them – we had to take that risk.
“I had to be scanned every week because it was so risky, and every scan we went to I expected to be told they hadn’t survived.”
The twins were delivered last March by caesarean at 33 weeks and six days. Amalie weighed 4lb 8oz and Flora 4lb 9oz. Emma said: “We can’t believe how close we came to losing them – they are our two little miracles.”
The twins spent two weeks in special care and Flora needed help with her breathing.
They were then allowed home to meet their big sister Esme, now five. Emma said: “It was wonderful to be able to bring them home after everything they had been through. Esme is a great sister to them and they adore her too.
“They have such an incredibly close bond. When they are older we will tell them how close they were, even before they were born.”