“Dr: -Look at the screen. What can you see?
Me:- I can see two sacs. Are there twins?
Dr: – Yes. That is right.”
This is how I found I was expecting twins. It was my second pregnancy, and I quite knew how things work and what to expect. It was like a shock for me to find that I had two more hearts inside me, but I end up being extremely happy, and I could not wait to meet them. Their due date was 10th December. My husband and I could eventually think that is going to be a very joyful Christmas, with many smiles.
The first trimester of pregnancy was healthy. I was just warned that with some twin pregnancies, there are complications too. I was very confident that everything will be fine. In the second trimester, at about 16 weeks of gestation, I was diagnosed with placenta praevia, after an episode of discharge. It was worrying, but encouraging, as sometimes placenta retires from by 20th week. Unfortunately, not in my case. It made me bleed more, and more.
At 19 weeks of gestation, I was admitted to Labour Ward with heavy bleeding. It was then that I was told twin 1 (Victoria) does not have enough amniotic fluid and the membranes had broke. It is difficult to explain what I felt at that time. I knew water is coming when you have to give birth. I never heard about a similar case. The doctors were straightforward and told my husband and me what that meant. Because it happened not even at half of the pregnancy, most likely I would have had a miscarriage. If I continued with the pregnancy, there was the risk of babies having severe long-term disabilities. Doctors suggested abortion as a solution too. What could I do?
We felt so overwhelmed. So confused about everything was happening, suffering for being in such a difficult situation. We did not know why it was happening. After bringing our thoughts together, we decided I am going to continue with the pregnancy. I believed that we are too insignificant to determine who’s life we keep or not. Only God can make this decision. This is what I was taught. It was the right in my opinion. If it had been a miscarriage, I would have had no choice, but I could not give up at two souls who were already kicking so strongly. I wanted my babies to feel they are in the safest place in my womb. I could not convert into their enemy.
I was put at bed rest and antibiotic and changed to a hospital where premature babies have a higher chance to survive. All the time I was at risk of losing my babies. If an infection or too heavy bleeding would appear, or too high blood pressure, the doctors would have been pushed to deliver the babies to save my life.
I was closely monitored and doing my very best to keep calm. I knew I was the field where our babies are fighting their hardest battle. We decided that one of them will be called “Victoria” if she will survive. It would be her first victory in this life. “Aurora” was inspired by aurora borealis, to light up our lives.
The next weeks were when I learnt a lesson every single day, when I looked inside me and discovered new sides, when I could reflect and get closer to God. Unforgettable time, but also an exercise for what was next.
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