A mother has talked about how she delivered very unusual twins – who were born 22 days apart in different hospitals.
Kayleigh Doyle, 22, was carrying two perfectly healthy twins and was unaware of any issues until her water broke at 22 weeks.
Sadly, baby Arlo was born stillborn through natural delivery, and medical professionals advised her to prepare for the arrival of ‘twin two’, who they said might also not survive. However, Kayleigh’s contractions ceased, and she was sent home to rest.
Remarkably, 22 days later, Astro was delivered via C-section and managed to survive against all odds.
Doctors were puzzled by the time gap and Kayleigh has not encountered another ‘twin mom’ with a longer gap.
Kayleigh from Manchester, said: ‘After the ordeal of giving birth to my first child – I was shocked when they said I could go home. Even today, I still can’t find a woman in the UK who can surpass 22 days. I was assigned a doctor from a different hospital, and we had daily check-ups between the two births.
‘Each passing day, he would genuinely express his disbelief. When Astro arrived, I couldn’t believe he had survived all that time.’
Kayleigh became pregnant with her twins in October 2020 and all her scans appeared normal. There were no complications until she experienced labor pains in March 2021.
‘I was mindful of all the risks associated with having twins,’ she said. ‘I even paid for private appointments with a GP because I was so concerned about complications.
‘When I reached 22-and-a-half weeks, I was lying in bed and experienced the most excruciating pain of my entire life. Unsure of what was happening, I went downstairs to the bathroom, and my water broke.’
Kayleigh hurried to the Royal Oldham Hospital and was kept under observation for five days. She delivered Arlo at 4:20am on March 20 – he was 17 weeks premature and weighed only 1.1lb. He was born stillborn, with doctors suspecting a blood clot in his placenta may have been the cause.
‘He looked like a typical baby,’ Kayleigh remembered. ‘After I gave birth, they informed me that they did not expect ‘twin two’ to survive – and he would probably be born in the next couple of hours.’
By March 25, Kayleigh still had not given birth to her second baby and was sent home.
She added: ‘I began scheduling appointments with a different doctor at Saint Mary’s Hospital – he couldn’t believe how long the gap was becoming. He arrived every day, baffled, and expressed his disbelief at how rare this was. Each day that passed was another day in between.
‘I feel like we all just went into survival mode. But I still found it really distressing whenever one of my doctors would inquire about the whereabouts of ‘twin one’.
‘We had bought double of everything for the babies – two cribs, a stroller with two seats. It was difficult to see the twin mothers I followed on TikTok documenting all their milestones.’
Kayleigh gave birth to her second baby through a c-section on April 11, at 4:12 a.m. The doctors opted for a c-section after finding out that the placenta had separated from the inner wall of the uterus, leading to a risk of oxygen deprivation for the baby.
Astro was only 2lb at birth and faced numerous complications. He was born with a heart defect and retinopathy, a condition that causes abnormal blood vessel growth in the eyes.
After two weeks of bringing Astro home, Kayleigh held a funeral for Arlo. This experience inspired her to undergo training to become a volunteer in a natal intensive care unit (NICU) in order to assist other parents in similar situations.
She mentioned, ‘I heard that an NICU charity in Manchester was seeking volunteers to participate in stay-and-play sessions, as well as to provide support to the parents of premature babies.’
‘I went through a year of training – and you’ve got to have had a premature baby to do it. I know what it’s like to feel in-the-dark about it – especially with the gap in between the two babies. As well as lonely – because everyone used to ask me where ‘twin one’ was.
‘But I honestly can’t think of anything more rewarding. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.’
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