A mum has given birth to her premature twins in two different months.
Hayley Burgess from Prenton, went into labour nine weeks early, on 30 September. Late that night she gave birth to her first twin, baby Charlie, at 11.30pm and, early the next morning, on 1 October, she gave birth to his sister, baby Layla, at 12.03am.
Mum Hayley said: “I came in at 9:10pm and by 12:10am in the morning, I’d had both of them”.
“The midwife was great, she stayed up with me all night speaking to me. The staff are amazing”.
Because the twins were born so early, they are both being cared for in the neonatal unit of Wirral Women and Children’s Hospital in Arrowe Park.
The twins’ mum said: “Layla is in intensive care and Charlie is in a separate room. I know how difficult it is having babies in two separate rooms”.
The neonatal unit is one of two Level 3 intensive care units in the area, so the 34-year-old mum has decided to fundraise to try to improve the unit caring for her children.
Head of fundraising at WUTH (Wirral University Teaching Hospital) Charity, Victoria Burrows, said: “We are really grateful to Hayley for her fundraising towards the appeal and are overwhelmed by the support that has been given”.
“This is an important appeal that will help some of the most poorly babies and their families. We also wish Layla and Charlie all the best while they are being cared for at the unit”.
The prospects for premature babies are improving all the time
Abortion is available up to 24 weeks in the UK. However, the outcomes for premature babies like Layla and Charlie are improving all the time. The twins were born after 30 weeks gestation but some babies are born as early as 22 weeks and survive.
Earlier this year, John Wyatt, Professor of Ethics and Perinatology at University College London and also Emeritus Professor of Neonatal Paediatrics, Ethics & Perinatology at University College London, presented evidence to parliamentarians from the UK and across the world showing “that there has been a steady improvement in the chances of survival of babies born at 22 and 23 weeks gestation since the Abortion Act was last amended [in 1990]”.
Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson, said: “The amazing advances in medical technology are improving the prospects for prematurely-born babies all the time. Prematurely-born babies, particularly those born before 24 weeks, continue to highlight the glaring contradiction between the care we provide for them and the fact that abortion is allowed for babies at the same gestation before 24 weeks and even after 24 weeks if the baby is disabled. But all of them are equally human and deserve our love and protection”.
