Miracle twins conquer life-threatening condition by holding each other in the womb

The twin boys shared the same amniotic sac.

For a woman, finding out she's pregnant should be one of the most exciting times of her life. For Hayley Lampshire, her excitement was clouded by the fact her twin boys faced a rare and life-threatening condition at just 12-weeks along.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - During her 12-week ultrasound, Hayley went in, along with her husband Charlie, to check on her baby, only to discover there were two babies.

"At our 12-week scan we found out that we were having twins, which left us completely in shock as we had no idea how we were going to cope with two babies," described Hayley to the Daily Mail.

"But at that same scan, we were told our pregnancy was going to be high risk, and a week later we were sent to a specialist who confirmed I was carrying Monoamniotic-Monochorionic twins."

Hayley's twin boys shared the same amniotic sac, instead of them each having their own. This meant that as they grew bigger and started to move around more, they risked the chance of strangling or starving each other with their umbilical cords.

"We were told that a selective termination would be a very last resort, but we tried not to think about it."

According to the doctors, the only way the twins would both survive is if they both stayed still.

"Charlie and I were terrified at first, but we want to share our story to reassure others that there is hope, something that we struggled to find when doing our own research," said Hayley.

The couple's doctors continued to keep an eye on the boys, and at each scan, the twins were seen holding on to each other, as if they were protecting each other.

"The percentage of Mo-Mo twins surviving has now increased a little thanks to amazing medical advances, but of course this didn't stop us worrying," stated Hayley.

At 34-weeks, Hayley went in for a C-section, and the boys were born 36 seconds apart.

"Rowan weighed 2.12kg (4.7lbs), and Blake weighed 2.05kg (4.5lbs) and were taken straight to special care," explained Hayley, noting they had fluid in their lungs and struggled to breathe.

Hayley was released from the hospital three days later, but the boys had to stay for three weeks.

"The boys are now doing really well and are growing so fast, and Charlie and I know how lucky we are to have them both here."

The proud parents have shared that Rowan and Blake haven't stopped cuddling since they were born.

"When they get older we will tell them how special their bond is."

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