On 14th February 2020, we found out we were pregnant. After experiencing an early loss of our first pregnancy in December 2019, we were over the moon to be blessed with another pregnancy. On 23rd March 2020 we attended an early reassurance scan and got the shock of our lives - there were two little poppets growing away, twins! We felt so lucky, beyond measure.

We were told at this scan that our twins were extremely high risk. We had no idea that there were different types of twins beyond identical/non-identical. Our twins were confirmed to be identical monochorionic monoamniotic (MCMA) twins, which means they share both the placenta and the same amniotic sac. We were then referred to foetal medicine for consultant care and the risks were shared with us. The twins had a 50% chance of making it to 24 weeks, due to all of the risks associated with sharing a blood supply and amniotic sac.

Despite the risks we remained optimistic and never thought we would lose our precious babies. We found out at our 17 week scan that the babies were little girls and we were over the moon! The girls were growing perfectly and were very active. Our scans with the consultant gave no cause for concern at all as the weeks ticked by. As we were in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I continued to protect them in the bubble of our home and only ventured out for a walk around our local park each day. 

On 29th June 2020 (four days after our 23 week perfect scan), I had woken up and not felt the usual movement I did from the girls. I rang the hospital and had the heartbeats monitored which were confirmed to be strong and nothing to worry about. The next day I still hadn’t felt the usual pattern of movement and had a scan with my consultant. It was then that we found out that one of our baby girls hadn’t made it (Ella) and our second little girl was in a deteriorating state (Lily). Our consultants described that Ella had passed due to an acute event associated with the shared blood supply. The passing of Ella had a catastrophic impact on the blood flow to Lily and her prognosis looked very uncertain.

Lily bravely battled on for the next few weeks but sadly lost her battle on 21st July 2020. I delivered both girls sleeping on 23rd July 2020, at 27 weeks. That day was undoubtedly the worst of our lives however, we feel extremely lucky to have met our beautiful girls. We spent some magical hours following their birth meeting them in the comfort of the bereavement “Serenity Suite” at the Queens Medical Centre. We received the most incredible care from the midwives and were extremely ‘lucky’ to be in the comfort of the suite for those incredible yet heartbreaking hours.

We would like to raise money for “Forever Stars”, a charity who funded the suite, to help any other families experiencing such a devastating loss in the future.

We will forever remember our precious girls Ella and Lily, taken far too soon. Our lives will never be the same but our hearts are overflowing with love for our two angel girls.

Thank you for reading their story.

Anna & Chris

xx