Rare twins who pulled through the odds turn one this Diwali - Read

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: When 29-year-old Nidhi Gill was advised by people to abort one of her twins last year because she was facing high risk, a ray of hope convinced her not to listen to people.

She and her monoamniotic twins faced high risk but somehow managed to survive the difficult condition defying all odds as they turn one this Diwali.

Veer and Shaurya, the first twins in the Gills family, were born at a city hospital through an emergency cesarean surgery, 33 weeks after the pregnancy due to chances of intra-uterine growth retardation or poor growth of foetus inside the womb.

Monoamniotic twins (sharing the same amniotic sac within the uterus) are rare occurring in approximately 1 in 35,000 to 1 in 60,000 pregnancies where serious complications could arise, especially for the foetus.

Usually termed as 'Monoamniotic-Monochorionic' or 'MoMo twins', they are always identical, monochorionic and share the placenta, but have separate umbilical cords.

"I had no idea about this kind of twins and many advised us to go for abortion of either one or both of the babies, saying their lives and mine, both would be endangered if I went ahead with the rare pregnancy. But I wanted to have them.

"And, on the day of the delivery, I was awake and felt nervous when I could not hear any voice. But, after a moment, the first baby cried and few minutes later the second one also did. It was the most amazing feeling," says Nidhi, a working mother from Delhi.

Senior Consultant, Obstetrics and Gynaecology at BLK Super Speciality Hospital, Poonam Khera, who monitored Nidhi's pregnancy, said, "I had to first counsel and mentally prepare her to undergo this. I told her about the complications that could have occurred, but the idea was to calm her."

The hospital said this was the first case of 'MoMo twins' at BLK.

Nidhi responded well and successfully delivered two male babies, weighing 1.2 kgs and 1.59 kgs, they said.

Both the twins are healthy and doing extremely well. After celebrating their first birthday yesterday, they are now looking forward to their first Diwali.

But the entire pregnancy period was fraught with challenges, and in MoMo twins, Khera said, the birth was premature and through surgical intervention.

"It is a high-risk pregnancy and can lead to intra-uterine growth retardation or death of the twins, or one twin becoming big while other becoming very small, low weight of babies.

For expectant mothers it can cause pregnancy-induced hypertension that leads to swelling of feet," Khera told PTI.

Doctors at Delhi's Fortis Le Femme, where 70 normal twin births have taken place this year, said, the expectant mothers should go for regular check-ups for any complications.

"After birth, the babies are kept in a nursery for some time, so it is of paramount importance that women must only go to such facilities which have nursery. Besides, other precautions must be taken before the C-section," Senior Consultant, Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Le Femme, Madhu Goel said.

(With PTI inputs)