They were born 14 weeks before their due date and after having experienced serious health problems, the little ones will spend the holidays with their family.
An English family received a wonderful Christmas present this year when doctors released their premature babies before Christmas.
Ava and Isla Bowen were born in Bristol, England, and are reported by the Daily Mail to be the smallest surviving micropremature twins in the country. Micropremature babies are those born before 30 weeks of pregnancy.
Recently, the little ones returned home after being admitted to the ɴᴇᴏɴᴀᴛᴀʟ ɪɴᴛᴇɴsɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴀʀᴇ ᴜɴɪᴛ for more than three months.
“We really thought Isla wouldn’t make it, but she did. I still can’t believe she’s here. She’s amazing, she’s literally a miracle baby,” said her mother, Rochelle.
When Rochelle was 12 weeks pregnant, she was told that her babies were not growing normally. The weeks passed and the news from her was not good, in such a way that the doctors suggested ᴛᴇʀᴍɪɴᴀᴛɪɴɢ the pregnancy. But her mother flatly refused because she had faith that her girls were going to make it.
The mum said doctors told her the babies had to be at least 28 weeks old to survive, and she was sent to see a specialist in London to discuss the issue of ᴛᴇʀᴍɪɴᴀᴛɪɴɢ the pregnancy.
“Time passed and Isla was three to four weeks behind in her development. The problem was that if she died in the ᴡᴏᴍʙ, her sister could suffer ʙʀᴀɪɴ ᴅᴀᴍᴀɢᴇ since they share the same ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ꜰʟᴏᴡ.
“I just took it week by week. And when I hit 25 weeks, I was like, ‘This is amazing.’ I never thought we would get to this stage,” the mother commented.
The girls were finally born on July 7 at 26 weeks’ gestation at Southmead Hospital. Not only was it a joyous moment to have made it to that date, but it was also agonizing for her parents, as they had a long road to recovery ahead of them.
“I froze when I saw them because they were very small, although they looked perfectly formed, they were only smaller. In fact, I thought Isla was going to be smaller than Ava. She was expected to weigh around 14 oz (397 grams), but she was born at 17 oz (482 grams),” said her mother.
Throughout their recovery, the little sisters had various heart, lung and eye problems, and Isla spent seven weeks on a ventilator. Her mother said that she could not hug or hold Isla until she was three weeks old.
Ava recovered the fastest and was discharged after 99 days, while Isla had to remain hospitalized for 13 more days. However, now the little ones have gathered at her house to spend Christmas with her family.
The mother says that they are doing very well and that she has not had any sequelae or medical problems as a result of her premature birth. The family also expressed their deepest thanks to the hospital staff for caring for their two daughters.
“It’s such an amazing place. The days and months spent in a neonatal unit take a heavy toll on a family. But we were lucky, and we feel very lucky. It’s hard to be in the hospital every day and have to leave the babies all the time, so it’s good to have them home. Now I can hug and feed them at all times,” added the mother.
Congratulations to the family and to these two warriors! We hope you have a very Merry Christmas.
