Twins held hands in womb to stay alive
INSIDE EDITION - A set of identical twins who shared the same amniotic sac in the womb stayed alive by cuddling each other for 34 weeks.
Once Hayley Lampshire, 27, and her husband Charlie got over the shock off having twins, they found out that their boys, Rowan and Blake, were monoamniotic-monochorionic twins and that her pregnancy would be high-risk.
The condition could cause their umbilical cords to become knotted, cutting off their food supply or choking one or both of the brothers.
“It was all pretty worrying at the beginning,” Lampshire told InsideEdition.com. “"If that did happen then it would be likely that we wouldn't know, we couldn't do anything to prevent it which was the scariest part.”
But, miraculously the twins stayed close together throughout the entire pregnancy, although the risk of complications grew larger as the babies did.
Lampshire, who received a scan every one to two weeks to check on the twins, said she was happy every time she saw the twins cuddling and holding hands.
“They were always really close and tucked up together. Each time they seemed to be doing well,” Lampshire said.
The babies were later born by cesarean section as doctors didn’t want to risk them growing any larger.
"The boys were born 36 seconds apart and were taken straight to special care,” Lampshire said. "They had fluid on their lungs and were struggling to breathe on their own."
Rowan and Blake had to stay in the hospital for three weeks, but their parents were eventually allowed to bring the cuddle buddies home. Lampshire says the twins still like to stay close to each other.
“They settle a lot better when they are together," Lampshire said. "They chat together [and] sleep in the same crib. They have a really good bond. They are healthy and happy."