A set of twins in Boston has beaten all odds by being born 24 days apart in a rare, lifesaving delayed delivery procedure.
Lindalva Pinheiro da Silva has spoken out about the technique doctors resorted to in the hope they could save one twin when the first was born at only 24 weeks after she went into premature labor in February.
Miraculously, both twins managed to survive and, despite one being nearly a month older than the other, are recovering well.
Lindalva (pictured with her husband, Ronaldo, and twin babies) was just 24 weeks pregnant when she went into labor. Her twins beat all odds by being born 24 days apart in a rare procedure
Pinheiro da Silva has spoken out about the technique doctors resorted to in the hope they could save one twin when the first was born at only 24 weeks after she went into premature labor in February
She gave birth to premature Alexandre, who was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit, as doctors kept Ronaldo growing inside of his mother’s womb during the unique technique
‘One twin was born in winter, and one was born in spring,’ da Silva, 35, gushed to the Boston Globe.
Alexandre and Ronaldo were to be her first children with Ronaldo Antunes, 40, and she was thrilled to be pregnant with twins.
But when her water broke in February, the excitement turned to fear.
‘I panicked,’ da Silva told ABC. ‘It wasn’t time. It was too early. I knew I could lose the babies.’
Around 50 percent of babies born at the 24 week mark don’t survive.
Miraculously, both twins managed to survive and, despite one being nearly a month older than the other, are doing well
Pinheiro da Silva’s first twin Alexandre was born at just 24 weeks and weighed only 1 pound 10 ounces
When potassium sulfate injections failed to stop da Silva’s labor, doctors decided to go forward with a rare technique in which one baby is kept in the womb after its twin is born.
‘When you have a situation where one baby is born and labor stops, you are given this window of opportunity,’ Dr. Steven Ralston, director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, told the Globe. ‘But it’s a rare window. Most times, labor does not stop.’
Thankfully, after Alexendre was born at just 1 pound, 10 ounces, it did happen.
Doctors stopped da Silva’s labor and left the delivered child’s umbillical cord and placenta inside da Silva’s womb.
As Alexandre fought for his life, his brother Ronaldo lived on in their mother’s womb growing stronger. Ronaldo was born 24 days after his brother and weighed 3 pounds 3 ounces
Wonder twins: ‘Ronaldo because he stayed inside, and Alexandre because he’s a survivor,’ said da Silva
‘On the second day after Alexandre was born, his umbilical cord came out,’ da Silva told ABC. Her husband Ronaldo ‘saw it hanging.’
‘But they just cleaned it and put it back inside,’ she said.
Da Silva was given antibiotics to combat infection, which can be common after the procedure. However, unlike many mothers, da Silva was fortunate not to require her cervix to be stitched up to keep the baby from coming.
For the next three weeks, da Silva remained in the hospital, where she was able to visit Alexendre in the neonatal unit.
‘I would sing to him and touch him,’ she recalled to ABC.
Then, 24 days after his brother was born, Ronaldo came at a much more robust 3 pounds, 3 ounces.
‘That time made a crazy difference,’ da Silva said of the three-plus weeks between births. ‘He was born like a regular baby. He didn’t need a breathing tube or anything.’
The boys remain in the hospital growing stronger. Now they each weigh over six pounds each.
Doctors say they’ll likly be able to go home by their original due date of June 18.
‘They’re my miracle babies,’ gushed da Silva. ‘Ronaldo because he stayed inside, and Alexandre because he’s a survivor.’