Preemie Momo Twins In A Priceless Hug While Meeting For The First Time Since Birth| Photos
When Australian-born Ann Le learned that her twin girls were going to born 12-weeks earlier, she was heartbroken. She was told that her pregnancy was high risk after doctors discovered that her babies were monochorionic monoamniotic twins -a rare condition in which the twins shared an amniotic sac and a placenta- which made Le’s pregnancy tricky.
However, the twins arrived safe and sound, and when they finally saw each other after being separated at birth, they immediately showed each other some love and joyfully, the new-mom was able to get a photo of the exact moment they hugged each other.
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Le and her husband, Jason Poon, were told about their daughters condition by their doctor. According to research, only about 1% of all monozygotic (or identical) twin pregnancies result in monochorionic monoamniotic twins or “momo” for short, but these pregnancies are often high risk and can result in umbilical cord complications, abnormal amniotic fluid levels, low birth weight, or even Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS).
Le had recounted to Today.com:
“I remember our doctor explaining the twins were sharing one sac and one placenta, meaning they were not only fighting for space, they were fighting for food. She then went on to explain it was a very high-risk pregnancy and our chances of getting through the pregnancy were not looking great. I remember bursting into tears and feeling like we’d already lost our babies.”
The twins’ heart rates had become erratic before their delivery, which is why Le needed to get an emergency C-section so early. At birth, the girls weighed only two pounds each and were kept separately in NICU for 27 days.
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“Unfortunately because they were so little, I missed out on immediate skin-to-skin with them as they had to be taken to intensive care for breathing support. But I knew this coming into surgery and was just happy they were alive and kicking!”
“27 days after birth the girls finally got to meet. Zoe immediately went in for the hug ????????????”
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“Olivia was placed on my chest first, followed by Zoe who reached out her left arm in preparation to hug her sister. My heart just instantly melted! After all the difficult weeks of keeping them apart, I was so relieved they could be reunited and had an ingrained bond. They both just laid on my chest and snuggled up to each other for a while. Everything was perfect — we finally felt like a family.”
The girls though not released yet from the NICU, their parents were hopeful to be home with them in April – Le’s original EDD until they recently learned that they will need heart surgery. So for now, Le and Poon are appreciative that their two daughters are alive and healthy.
Le affirmed that:
“Sometimes they love each other and are happy to enjoy an afternoon nap, and other times they just irritate each other and end up pushing each other away. It’s quite hilarious to see. And even though life in the NICU is “pretty damn hard, when I look down and see these two, I forget about how difficult things are and realize just how lucky we are to have these two ❤”
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