Identical twins cheated death in the womb by hugging each other

Identical twins cheated chilling 50 per cent odds of strangling each other in the womb, with this incredible, life-saving hug.

Told at her 10-week scan that the twins were monoamniotic - meaning they shared one amniotic sac - nursery nurse Vicky Plowright, 30, was warned this meant their umbilical cords could become tangled, shutting off their oxygen supply and killing them both.

Vicky, of Godalming, Surrey, whose fiancé, Chris Cremer, 32, is also a nursery nurse, said: 'I was with my sister, Georgina, and we were told the twins were monoamniotic, or Mo-Mo (Monoamniotic-Monochorionic), twins.

But everything changed at the 12 week scan, with a specialist sonographer, when Vicky and Chris saw the twins had moved into a lifesaving embrace.

'To our astonishment, at the 12-week scan, we saw that they were cuddling each other and holding hands,' Vicky recalled.

'They were keeping each other alive by staying still, so their umbilical cords didn't get tangled.'

Doctors arranged to see Vicky every one to two weeks for check-ups, until the twins reached 32 weeks, when they wanted to deliver them.

'For the next few months, we were in a constant state of worry,' said Vicky, who discovered at 17 weeks they were having boys. 'I didn't feel I could get excited, because I was so worried we were going to be told at every scan that our twins hadn't survived.'

But, at the 12 week scan, the couple saw something magical - their boys happily hugging each other and holding hands. 'By staying still in that position, they'd stopped the cords from becoming so badly tangled that it killed them,' Vicky said.

'It really was a miracle.' At 13 weeks one twin's cord did wrap slightly around the other, making them lie even closer and stiller. Fortunately, this meant it was less likely for a major knot to form.

Then, at 32 weeks, Vicky was relieved when she was advised to give birth to her babies, as twin number two, Theo, had stopped growing, because of the limited womb space. So, on December 22, 2015, she was taken to a delivery suite at the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guilford, with Chris by her side, for a caesarean.

The twins were kept in the neo natal unit for another five weeks, before being discharged at the end of January. Now, aged 22 months, they could not be closer. 'They are the best of friends,' Vicky beamed.

'Before they even knew the world, they knew each other, and grew together in such a small space that I knew they would have a special bond for the rest of their lives. 'Reuben is the 'do-er' and Theo the 'thinker', but they always have an eye on where the other one is.'

 

 

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