WHEN Elaine Avery found out she was pregnant with twins, she was shocked but overjoyed.
She never imagined the tragedy to come, finding herself at the funeral of one of her babies while the other fought for life in hospital.
Jam PressElaine Avery was excited to be having twins but says it “wasn’t meant to be”[/caption]
Elaine lost one of the twins, Aurelia, at 22 weeks and was advised to terminate her pregnancyJam Press
Jam PressShe decided to continue with the pregnancy but gave birth to the second twin, Aurora, just two weeks later, at 24 weeks[/caption]
Elaine, 37, from Southampton, was told she was a high-risk pregnancy early on, at eight weeks.
The babies were monochorionic-diamniotic identical twins, meaning they shared the same placenta and were more at risk of complications such as low birth weight or premature birth.
Elaine, mum to Max, 12, says: “I hadn’t bought a single thing because I was terrified that neither would survive.
“But when I reached 10 weeks, I started to buy all the things needed.”
But there was more bad news to follow, as at 21 weeks, Elaine discovered that the twins had twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, which is a risk when babies share the placenta.
It means blood is not shared evening across a shared placenta, making the risk of death and disability for both twins high.
Elaine, who is single and works as a communications assistant, says: “I had to undergo emergency surgery to separate the blood vessels connecting them.
“When they told me about the complications, I felt so scared and alone.
“I had to keep going and stay strong for my babies, as there was a fighting chance everything would be okay.”
Elaine found out the gender of her babies – two girls, whom she called Aurelia and Aurora.
But at 22 weeks, Aurelia, the supposed healthier twin, passed away.
Elaine, who had to birth Aurelia, was left dealing with grief.
“I felt so blessed when I discovered that there were two babies growing inside me – but it wasn’t meant to be,” Elaine says.
“I was devastated, but I couldn’t grieve Aurelia when Aurora still needed me.
“I couldn’t believe it and I struggled to come to terms of losing my baby girl.
“I wanted to hang onto the hope of my other baby, but I was advised to terminate the pregnancy entirely as there were too many issues present.
“But I didn’t want to face losing another child, so I went ahead and decided to carry her through to full-term.
“She seemed like she was fighting in there, so I fought with her.”
Elaine was told Aurora likely wouldn’t survive due to chronic lung disease and developmental delay.
Although she wanted to carry her full term, only two weeks after Aurelia’s death, she gave birth to Aurora.
Elaine says: “I had a feeling that something wasn’t right and I went to the early pregnancy unit.
“My consultant wanted me to be admitted so they could monitor Arora and they weren’t happy and they thought she was in distress.”
Aurora was born prematurely, at 24 weeks, through an emergency C-section.
Due to how sick Aurora was, doctors thought she wouldn’t make it – the NHS says it’s possible for a baby to survive if born around 24 weeks of pregnancy onwards, but before this, it does not offer care because the baby is not considered viable.
Aurora entered a critical condition and was rushed to have multiple surgeries to combat sepsis – a life-threatening condition that follows infection in which the body attacks itself.
During this time, the family mourned Aurelia at her funeral and hoped for a positive outcome for Aurora.
Elaine says: “It was very close family [at the funeral], although it was very very sad, awful, it was still beautiful.
“A family friend made the coffin, yellow roses from our garden at home and it was lovely in its own way.
“It was really hard planning the funeral and being away from Aurora while she was still very sick.”
Thankfully, after a few months of having the right care, Aurora was able to thrive.
Now, Elaine hopes to share the story of her “miracle” baby with others.
She added: “She’s blind in one eye and is facing developmental delays, but she’s feisty and loves to laugh.
“She radiates joy and resilience and the bond with her older brother is the source for laughter and happiness within the entire family.
“I couldn’t have gotten through this without the support of my friends and family, as well as the doctors and nurses who cared for, and continue to care for Aurora.
“I’m so proud of her and I know her sister would be too.”
Jam PressDoctors did not think Aurora would make it, given how early she was born[/caption]
Jam PressElaine holding Aurora as machines kept her alive[/caption]
Jam PressElaine says of Aurora: “She’s blind in one eye and is facing developmental delays, but she’s feisty and loves to laugh”[/caption]
Jam PressElaine and her ‘miracle baby’ who she continued to carry while grieving her sister[/caption]
What is twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome
According to the NHS TTTS affects identical twins who share a placenta.
The NHS said: “It’s caused by abnormal connecting blood vessels in the twins’ placenta.
“This results in an imbalanced blood flow from one twin (known as the donor) to the other (recipient), leaving one baby with a greater blood volume than the other.”
It affects around 10-15% of twins who share a placenta and can have serious consequences.
TAMBA – the Twins and Multiple Births Association, explaining the syndrome, said: “A lack of blood supply can affect the donor twin’s growth so they are smaller than average.
“The recipient twin is usually larger and has a higher blood volume, which can strain their heart as it works harder to cope with the extra blood supply.
“To compensate for the excess blood, the recipient twin often produces a large amount of fluid. In contrast, the smaller donor twin can become stuck against the uterus wall with little surrounding fluid.