A young mom in the UK tragically lost her firstborn child and doctors told her to prepare to lose his preborn twin soon after. But she and the baby miraculously held on for 22 more days and the second twin was born alive.
Kayleigh Doyle, age 22, was expecting twins in an otherwise healthy pregnancy when her water broke at 22 weeks in March of 2021. The first twin born was Arlo, who tragically was stillborn. Doctors told Doyle to expect “twin two” to be born shortly after and said he would not survive either. However, Doyle’s second son was not born that day, and she was sent home to rest, according to the Manchester Evening News. It is unknown why Doyle was sent home under such circumstances.
“I was aware of all the risks that came with having twins,” she said. “I even paid for private GP appointments because I was so worried about complications. When I hit 22-and-a-half weeks, literally, I was in bed and had the worst pain of my entire life. I wasn’t sure what was going on, so I went to the toilet downstairs, and my waters broke.”
Doyle was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital where she was observed for five days and gave birth to Arlo 17 weeks early. He was stillborn and weighed just one pound, one ounce. Doctors believe there was a blood clot in the placenta that may have caused Arlo’s death.
“He looked like a normal baby,” said Doyle. “They sat me down after I gave birth, and told me they weren’t expecting ‘twin two’ to survive — and he’ll probably be born in the next couple of hours.”
But it was 22 days later on April 11, that Arlo’s twin brother Astro was delivered via C-section when doctors discovered a placental abruption, which is when the placenta has separated from the inner wall of the uterus, depriving the baby of oxygen. Astro survived despite the abruption and doctors’ grim predictions.
“After the trauma of giving birth to my first baby — I was gobsmacked when they said I could go home. To this day, I still can’t find a woman in the UK who can beat 22 days.”
She continued, “I was assigned a doctor by a different hospital, and we had daily check-ups in between the two births. Every day that passed, he’d say he genuinely couldn’t believe it. When Astro arrived I couldn’t believe he had survived all that time.”
Astro has a hole in his heart and abnormal blood vessel growth in his eyes, but he is now three years old and doing well. Doyle is now a NICU volunteer.
“I heard an NICU charity was looking for volunteers in Manchester – looking for people to do stay-and-play sessions, and going to the cotside of premature babies. I went through a year of training – and you’ve got to have had a premature baby to do it,” she said. “I know what it’s like to feel in-the-dark about it – especially with the gap in between the two babies. As well as lonely – because everyone used to ask me where ‘twin one’ was. But I honestly can’t think of anything more rewarding. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.”
