During her second pregnancy, Nadia and her husband Shane found out at 12 weeks that they were expecting twins. At that stage, they didn’t have any idea what was in store for them. It wasn’t until their follow-up appointment where they were told that they had MCMA (Monochorionic Monoamniotic) Twins – a high-risk pregnancy. The condition is rare. Identical twins share everything including growing in the same sac and sharing the placenta, causing higher risks of complications such as miscarriage, stillbirth of one or both babies, foetal anomalies and cord entanglement.
There were many emotions the day they learned what MCMA Twins were and the risks they were facing with the pregnancy. Given the higher risk of complications, at 25 weeks gestation Nadia moved to Ronald McDonald House Hobart, 3.5 hours from home, her family and friends. She went from having a great support network to knowing no one. She required daily monitoring at the Royal Hobart Hospital as she needed three CTGs a day and a weekly ultrasound.
Staying at home just wasn’t an option.
For weeks, Nadia woke up every morning not knowing if she would have one less heartbeat.
They made a plan to deliver the girls early as that was safest for them and lowered the chances of losing them as they got bigger. They welcomed both girls at 32.5 weeks on 20th April 2023, a day after their father’s birthday and only a couple of days before their big brother Eli’s. As the girls grew stronger, they were then transferred to a hospital closer to home, and after a 33-day stay at the Launceston General, the girls were finally discharged and brought home to meet the rest of their family.
Nadia shared, “The House and staff really became our lifeline through this journey, it became our second home and the staff became our family. On the weeks where Shane and Eli couldn’t make the 3.5 hour travel down due to work or other commitments, the staff were all I had, and they have become lifelong friends. We just love them so much; they made life a lot easier with a two-year-old and made us all feel so welcome. We really could not have done this without them.”
Both girls are doing really well now and are absolutely adored by their big brother. All up, the family had 117 days in hospital (with 85 nights at RMH Hobart and a further 32 nights at the Launceston General Hospital), 126 CTGs and 57 ultrasounds – and it was worth every single one of them.
