When Shona Jeffery went into labour, she didn’t feel excited—she felt terrified. The 27 year old first-time mum was just 22 weeks and six days pregnant, and as she was rushed to her local hospital in the UK, she knew she might never meet her babies. Through her contractions, doctors delivered the bad news: they wouldn’t be able to do anything to help at that stage of the pregnancy, and her children would be on their own, reports The Sun.
But the babies had other ideas. As the clock struck midnight and Shona, a dental nurse, officially entered her 23rd week of pregnancy, the doctors said they could now intervene if the twins were born alive.
Two teams of specialists were on standby to treat the bubs, and whisked little Dolly off to intensive care when she was born on November 11. But her little brother, Albert, decided to stay put—for another five days, a feat which doctors say is extremely rare.
The battle had only just begun, though, as the tiny twins—who weighed just 30 grams each—clung to life. Both twins needed surgery on their eyes, and Dolly had a hole in her heart repaired at six weeks. Their parents weren’t able to hold the pair until they were six weeks old, and they spent months more in hospital.
Babies this small only have a 50 per cent chance of survival, and half of the survivors would have a disability, according to the Twins and Multiple Births Association.
Their father, Darren, a landscape gardener said: “Against the odds our little miracles have survived and shocked everyone and have come home.
“Every doctor we have spoken to said we should count our lucky stars. They are just so precious to us.”
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