Kayla Marie Ibarra, a mom from Canada, gave birth to preemie twins at 22 weeks old. The doctor gave a bleak prognosis, saying the babies would die on the same day they were born. Kayla, however, refused to give up on her twins, The Epoch Times reported. The family has braved a lot of medical odds since. The twins pulled through and headed home after staying for 115 days at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The twins are now three years old, a picture of bouncy girls.
'Babies this gestation simply do not survive'
Kayla and her husband found out they were expecting twins when she had her six-week ultrasound. The twins' mom described her pregnancy as "smooth sailing" until the 20th week when at some point, she suspected that her water had broken. The doctors assured her that her water did not break, but they placed her in the high-risk category and monitored her weekly with ultrasounds.
She said she was having labor pains at 21.5 weeks. To her surprise, the doctor was grim about her delivery. He told her that "the twins will be born today, and they will die," amid her labor. The doctor also said that babies barely at 22 weeks gestation do not survive.
Her labor lasted for four days. She was also diagnosed with pneumonia. On September 27, 2018, a new doctor arrived and informed the couple that they would transfer them to London, Ontario.
The babies were born in London at 9:12 and 9:29 PM. Luna, the eldest, weighed more than 14 ounces (0.39 kg) and 11 inches. Ema weighed 1 pound (0.45 kg) and was 12 inches long.
The mother said Luna was very sick, and the family thought she would not make it. She was resuscitated four times, while her twin was resuscitated only once. The girls were in the NICU for a total of 115 days and were out of the hospital before their expected due date.
Improving survival rates of extremely premature babies
Meanwhile, in Brighton, Ruben and Jenson Powell were born in August 2018 at 22 weeks and six days. Their mom said that the twins "defied every set of odds they were given."
Eight days after the delivery, Ruben underwent surgery as his intestine failed. His twin brother, Jenson, was also suffering from a weak lung. The Powell kids had 20 blood transfusions, eye injections, and laser surgery to curb blindness. The twins also survived blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Kayla's and Powell's stories, though rare, happen to other expectant moms all over the globe.
BBC News reported that it was previously recommended that only babies born at 23 weeks or later are given treatment to save their lives. However, advances in medical treatment made it possible for a doctor to save the lives of babies born at 22 weeks. British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) now reports that babies born earlier than 23 weeks can survive, although rare.
Today, Kayla's twins are three years old and have developmentally caught up with other full-term babies. Kayla now advocates for severely premature babies and starts a nonprofit, TwentytwoMatters, to provide medical articles and a world map of the hospital that helps in the survival of preemies at 22 weeks.
