One mom is sharing the story of how doctors pressured her to kill her preborn children, warning her that they were “killing each other” in the womb. She resisted, and now her twin daughters are thriving.
Laura Watson explained that her babies had twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, a rare condition in which blood flows unevenly between the children in the placenta, resulting in one baby taking most of the nourishment intended for the other baby. This effectively leaves one child undernourished while the other child becomes overnourished. Watson’s doctors advised her to abort as a result.
“Nothing can prepare you to hear doctors give terminating your pregnancy as a suggestion,” she said. “I wasn’t given any good choices. I was terrified — everything happened so fast.”
Thankfully, she realized that there were other choices available to her.
She flew from her home in Northern Ireland to St. George’s Hospital in London, where doctors were able to operate while the twin girls were still in utero, performing an intrauterine laser ablation surgery. “I was told I could do nothing and most likely lose both of them or have a surgery with a 30% survival rate,” she said, noting that doctors still maintained that abortion was an option.
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”But I couldn’t do that, I had to give them a both a chance,” she added. “I never dreamed I’d get to bring them both home after what we went through. I decided to operate, even though that was extremely risky as well.”
Watson and the twins made it through the surgery, but the children were still having difficulty. Eight weeks later, doctors ended up delivering both in an emergency C-section. At birth, the first twin, Meabh, weighed just 1 pound, 6 ounces, while the second twin, Clodagh, weighed 2 pounds, 8 ounces. Though the babies had to spend months in the hospital, they are now home with their family and thriving.
”[N]ow they are here, and they are happy, and I still can’t believe it,” Watson said. She said it’s been a joy watching the girls interact with each other. “Anytime they’re together, they hold hands and play or interact in any other way. They have a clear connection, and it’s amazing to see.”
“We struggled a lot, mentally and financially, but as parents you just do it,” she said, describing their first months in the hospital. “They’re a lot of work, but it’s worth it.”
