A first-time mother whose twins were born surprisingly three weeks apart – and in different hospitals – has told of her heartbreak after only one survived.
Kayleigh Doyle, from Manchester, was just 22 and a half weeks pregnant when her water unexpectedly broke.
The 22-year-old spent five days under close observation at Royal Oldham Hospital before giving birth naturally.
His son Arlo, however, did not survive.
Doctors told Miss Doyle they were expecting her second twin “in the next few hours” but were baffled when her contractions stopped. They warned that he would probably die.
Kayleigh Doyle, from Manchester, was just 22 and a half weeks pregnant when her water unexpectedly broke. The 22-year-old spent five days under close observation at Royal Oldham Hospital before giving birth naturally. In the photo, Mrs. Doyle with her son Astro.
Doctors told Miss Doyle they were expecting her second twin, Astro, “in the next few hours” but were baffled when her contractions stopped. They warned that he would probably die. In the photo, Astro is now two years old.
Incredibly, 22 days after Arlo gave birth, Astro was born via caesarean section at nearby St Mary’s Hospital and survived against all odds. She weighed 2 pounds, just under a 1kg bag of sugar.
After five days without movement, Miss Doyle was sent home.
Incredibly, 22 days after Arlo gave birth, Astro was born via caesarean section at nearby St Mary’s Hospital and survived against all odds. She weighed 2 pounds, a little less than a 1kg bag of sugar.
Miss Doyle, whose ordeal occurred in 2021, now believes she holds the record for longest separation between twins born in England.
She said: ‘After the trauma of giving birth to my first baby, I was stunned when they told me I could go home.
‘To this day, I still can’t find a woman in the UK who can make it past 22 days.
‘They assigned me a doctor from another hospital and we had daily checks between the two births.
“Every day that went by, he said he really couldn’t believe it.”
Miss Doyle added: “When Astro arrived I couldn’t believe he had survived all that time.”
Miss Doyle said she had not experienced any complications until she went into labor on March 15.
“I was aware of all the risks that come with having twins,” he added. ‘I even paid for private GP appointments because I was so worried about complications.
‘By the time I was 22 and a half weeks I was literally in bed and in the worst pain of my entire life.
“I wasn’t sure what was going on, so I went to the downstairs bathroom and my water broke.”
After giving birth to Arlo, who weighed only 0.5 kg (1.1 lb), Doctors told Miss Doyle the likely cause was a blood clot in the placenta.
These blockages can block blood flow to the fetus.
According to the charity Tommy’s, the risk of giving birth prematurely increases from seven to 57 per cent in pregnancies involving more than one fetus.
The chance of surviving to 22 weeks (two weeks before the abortion deadline) is about 10 percent. Rates are over 60 percent at the 24-week mark.
The NHS says that around one in eight pregnancies ends in a miscarriage, which is medically defined as the loss of the pregnancy during the first 24 weeks.
Other estimates raise this figure because many women in the early stages of pregnancy may not realize they are pregnant when a miscarriage occurs.
Stillbirths (when a baby is stillborn after six months of being in the womb) occur in around one in every 200 births in England.
Speaking about Arlo, who was born on March 20, Miss Doyle said: “He seemed like a normal baby.”
“They sat me down after giving birth and told me that they did not expect ‘twin two’ to survive and that he would probably be born in the next few hours.”
Under medical guidance, if contractions stop after the first birth, hormones are often added to a drip to restart them.
However, case reports have shown that, in rare cases, doctors allow the second fetus to continue gestating in the womb if the first one is extremely premature.
It is recommended that women rest for the remainder of their pregnancy.
On April 11, doctors discovered she had suffered a placental abruption, a rare and serious complication in which the placenta separates from the lining of the uterus. They recommended giving birth to Astro (pictured) by cesarean section
Two weeks later, Miss Doyle and Astro, now two years old, were discharged and she held a funeral for Arlo. Since her ordeal, she channeled her grief into supporting others and now she has trained as a volunteer in the NICU.
On March 25, Astro had still not arrived and doctors discharged Miss Doyle.
He added: “I started making appointments with another doctor at St Mary’s Hospital and he couldn’t believe how long the gap was starting to get longer.”
‘I think we all went into survival mode.
“But I still found it really triggering when one of my doctors asked me where ‘twin one’ was.
‘We had bought twice as much everything for the babies: two cribs and a stroller with two seats. “It was hard to see the twin moms I followed on TikTok recording all their milestones.”
Then, on April 11, doctors discovered she had suffered a placental abruption, a rare and serious complication in which the placenta separates from the lining of the uterus.
They recommended giving birth to Astro by cesarean section.
he was born with a hole in the heart and vision problems.
Two weeks later, Miss Doyle and Astro, now two years old, were discharged and she held a funeral for Arlo.
Since the ordeal, she has channeled her grief into supporting others and has now trained as a volunteer in the natal intensive care unit (NICU).
Miss Doyle said: “I heard that a NICU charity was looking for volunteers in Manchester, looking for people to run stay and play sessions and to go to the cotside of premature babies.
Vicky Green (pictured), from Manchester, is believed to currently hold the record for longest separation between twins born in England. She first gave birth to Presley (pictured right), who weighed just 1 pound 8 ounces, when she was 26 weeks pregnant and then Paisley (pictured left) 12 days later.
‘I went through a year of training and you have 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 between the two babies.
But honestly, I can’t think of anything more rewarding. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.’
Vicky Green, from Manchester, is believed to currently hold the record for longest separation between twins born in England.
In 2018, she She first gave birth to Presley, who weighed just 1 pound, 8 ounces, when she was just 26 weeks pregnant.
After labor ceased, she gave birth to Paisley by Caesarean section 12 days later again at St Mary’s Hospital. She weighed 2 pounds, 8 ounces.
The twins remained in the hospital as they grew stronger and after five months were allowed to return home.
The world record (twins born 90 days apart) was set in Baltimore, United States, in 1996.