Abigail Whitlock’s dream pregnancy turned into a nightmare when doctors discovered she was suffering from a rare condition and urged her to terminate one of her unborn identical twins.
She was going to have two boys, but five months into the pregnancy they were diagnosed with twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).
The condition occurs when the blood vessels in the placenta are not connected evenly, causing one of the fetuses to receive more nutrients.
Doctors booked her for risky laser surgery that used a small beam of radiation to seal abnormal blood vessel connections to the placenta.
But there were complications and The doctors gave Abigail and her husband Stuart an impossible ultimatum: sacrifice one to save the other or risk losing them both.
The medical team strongly recommended clamping the smaller boy’s umbilical cord to give the other twin a better chance of survival.
But the couple, aged 27 and 28, refused to let one of their twins go and opted to ‘postpone that decision for a few days’.
By chance – which Abigail attributes to the “faith of friends and family and the grace of God” – at the next check-up the sick twins’ condition had miraculously improved and Abigail said this was the case. ‘shocked, overwhelmed and ultimately overjoyed by the good news.’
When Abigail Whitlock and her husband, Stuart, found out they were expecting twins, they were overwhelmed with joy. But unfortunately that was short-lived
The boys – Harvey and Bellamy – are now thriving and are now 15 months old.
Explaining the harrowing ordeal, Abigail told DailyMail.com: ‘It was the most emotionally taxing experience we have ever had. I cried the whole time and just imagined the worst possible outcome.
‘Both myself and Stuart had complete doubts about the future and at one point we had lost all hope.’
Their pregnancy had gone without a hitch and they became pregnant within days of starting the attempt.
Five months into their pregnancy, they realized something was wrong.
During their twenty-week screening scan, the so-called ‘anomaly scan’, the sonographer indicated that it was difficult to obtain the images because there was too much amniotic fluid.
As a result, they were referred to a specialist, who also experienced problems due to the large amount of fluid around the twins.
A few days later, Abigail was diagnosed with TTTS.
TTTS – which affects about 4,500 babies in the US every year – is a potentially fatal condition that can occur in identical pregnancies where twins share a placenta.
Abnormal blood vessel connections form in the placenta and prevent blood from flowing evenly between the babies.
One twin then becomes dehydrated, which affects growth. The other gets high blood pressure and produces too much urine.
This leads to an enlarged bladder and excessive amounts of amniotic fluid, which can strain the twins’ hearts and lead to heart failure. Without treatment, TTTS can be fatal for both twins.
There is only a 50/50 chance that both twins will survive.
Abigail was told her toddlers had developed twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) in the womb – and were showing late signs of organ failure
TTTS – which affects about 4,500 babies in the US each year – is a potentially fatal condition that can occur in identical pregnancies when twins share a placenta
Thinking back to how she felt at the time of her diagnosis, Abigail recalled, “I wanted to hear their little cries after they entered the world — not to say goodbye before they even got here.”
The couple was told their case was “severe and critical” and they were referred to a specialized hospital in Seattle for the necessary laser surgery, called fetoscopic laser photocoagulation (FLP).
A small laser was inserted into Abigail’s uterus to cauterize the blood vessels on the placenta that connected the twins.
Although FLP is crucial for fetal survival, it is not without risk.
FLP for TTTS has a survival rate of over 90 percent for at least one twin and 50-70 percent for both twins.
However, there is still an 11 to 14 percent risk of long-term neurodevelopmental disorders.
Other complications may include fetal loss, premature delivery, and accidental injury to tissue or organs near the surgical field.
The surgery was initially a success and about 12 hours later Abigail said doctors told her and Stuart that the twins were showing all the right signs and things were looking positive.
However, when the couple returned home, they suffered ‘another devastating blow’.
They were told that the smaller of the twins, Bellamy, had unfortunately developed hydrops fetalis, a buildup of fluid in his body, resulting in severe swelling and organ failure.
It was likely that he would not survive much longer.
To give the other twin, Harvey, a better chance of life, doctors recommended clamping the umbilical cord, which they denied.
She said: ‘However, the doctors recommended it as it was clear to them that he would die shortly and clamping his umbilical cord would result in him dying immediately.
‘And give Harvey a better chance of survival. We have chosen to postpone that decision for a few days.’
But then a miracle happened.
She said: ‘At the next check-up we heard that Bellamy had made a miraculous recovery.
“We were shocked, overwhelmed and ultimately overjoyed with the good news.
Reflecting on the harrowing ordeal, Abigail said: ‘It was the most emotionally taxing experience we have ever had. ‘I cried all the time and just imagined the worst possible outcome’
In August 2023, after just 34 weeks, the decision was made to deliver the twins via caesarean section
Thanks to intervention and dedicated care in the NICU department, the twins’ strength grew day by day. Today they are completely healthy
“All the fluid was gone and he was on his way to be back here with us.”
In August 2023, at 34 weeks, the decision was made to deliver the twins via caesarean section.
Harvey and Bellamy were born weighing just 1.2 kg.
Thanks to intervention and dedicated care in the NICU department, the twins’ strength grew day by day. Today they are completely healthy and without problems, despite their difficult past.
Abigail and Stuart hope to share their story to warn other parents who are in a similar situation and to provide a message of hope. Especially because the situation could have been very different.
Abigail talks openly about her birth journey on her TikTok channel @twinmomtales, where she has more than 150,000 followers.
The content creator added, “It was overwhelming and belittling.
“My husband and I could barely function or complete the tasks of our daily lives because we were so burdened by the fact that one or both of our twins, whom we were so in love with, could die at any moment. and there was nothing we could do about it.
“Even months after the twins were born, we held them and cried, thinking about how we almost lost them.
“We attribute the miracle of our twins’ birth to the expertise of the medical experts we saw, the faith of our friends and family, and the grace of God.
‘I know not all pregnancy stories have a happy ending like ours.
‘For all the mothers who are struggling with pregnancy or who have lost a child, I would like to say that miracles do happen.
“I can also say that the joy we feel now at having our twins in our lives far outweighs the sadness we felt when we didn’t know if we would ever meet them. Don’t lose hope.’