A mother who was told she had miscarried and would never have any more children has spoken of her joy after doctors later realised she was actually pregnant with twins.
Natalie Foxcroft, 24, had already suffered four miscarriages and two ectopic pregnancies – where the baby forms outside the womb and which can prove fatal to the mother.
She found out she was pregnant again on January 3 – just two days after her partner Ross had proposed to her.
After four miscarriages and two ectopic pregnancies - and being told she would never have more children - Natalie Foxcroft has discovered she is pregnant with twins
But her joy turned to more heartache when medical staff could not find the baby during a scan.
They feared Miss Cockroft, who has a two-year-old son, was having another ectopic pregnancy.
As a result, she underwent surgery to remove her remaining fallopian tube - ending any hopes of having any more children.
But just two days later, while still recovering in hospital and reeling from the horrendous news, she was told by doctors that blood tests taken after the operation showed she still had high levels of pregnancy hormones.
'I had a scan a day later and I was very nervous, but they found a baby in my womb,' she said.
'In the space of a week I’d gone from finding out I was pregnant, to losing the baby, and then finding out the baby had survived the operation. I couldn’t believe it.'
A week later, during a follow-up scan, Miss Foxcroft and partner Ross Whitehead, of Liversedge, West Yorkshire, received an even bigger surprise - she was pregnant with twins.
'We felt a sigh of relief when the nurse showed us the baby’s heartbeat on the monitor,' said Miss Foxcroft. 'But we could hardly believe it when she said "and there’s the other one’s".
Miss Foxcroft's pregnancy is particularly rare as the twins are ‘monochorionic monoamniotic’ which means they will grow in the same amniotic sac, with no membrane separating them.
'We were really, really shocked but over the moon. It was like getting two for the price of one.'
Miss Foxcroft's pregnancy is particularly rare as the twins are ‘monochorionic monoamniotic’ which means they will grow in the same amniotic sac, with no membrane separating them.
They share the same placenta but have two umbilical cords, and will be identical.
to take each day as it comes, and I think that’s the best piece of advice.'
The twins are to be delivered by Caesarean section at 32 weeks.
Miss Foxcroft also has a two-year-old son, Harry. She said: 'He goes around telling people that mummy has two babies in her tummy, so I think he understands.
'We have told Harry that he has a big job as an older brother to make sure the twins will be okay while they are growing up.
'We still have to go for fortnightly check-ups to make sure the babies are okay but my mum told me to take each day as it comes, and I think that’s the best piece of advice.'
WHAT ARE MONO-AMNIOTIC TWINS?
Mono-amniotic twins are identical twins that develop inside the same amniotic sac. Also known as Mo-Mo twins (Monoamniotic-Monochorionic), they are always identical.
Monochorionic means one placenta, while monoamniotic means one sac. These pregnancies are incredibly rare, affecting an estimated one in 65,000 pregnancies.
Unfortunately, these twins have a greater risk of health complications due to the close proximity of the two umbilical cords in the amniotic sac.
This makes it particularly easy for the twins to become entangled in each other's cords, or to compress one another's cords, endangering their oxygen and food supply. The survival rate for mono-amniotic twins is approximately 50 per cent.
Mo-Mo twins are usually delivered by Caesarean at 32 weeks.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2280440/Mother-told-miscarried--children--discovers-actually-pregnant-TWINS.html#ixzz2LGsmExvK
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