Carmen Martinez's birth story is unusual after a rare situation caused her identical twins to be born three days apart. The Abilene native knew her pregnancy would be different when she learned she was having twins. All of Martinez's preparation turned to fear when doctors found the twin girls would be born premature during a routine check-up.
Martinez told KFOR that they knew something was wrong when they heard doctors say she was going in immediately. Martinez was admitted on February 28, and her water broke that same night, but she would not give birth for another week.
Martinez said she had a natural birth when delivering Gabby. She got wheeled right back in, though, as baby number 2 was not ready yet. Martinez said she went back to her hospital room after the birth of her first child, determined to delay delivery for as long as possible based on her doctor's advice.
Pain all worth it for Martinez as she delivered twins safely
Martinez said she did not know how to comprehend what had just happened. Martinez found it hard to believe that she just had a baby, but she was still pregnant. Dr. Len Tadvick, Hendrick Health OBGYN, explained why that was the case, saying the more time they can give each baby in the uterus is better at this early gestational age.
Tadvick delivered the twin girls safely, saying that this phenomenon is rare. He said that it is very uncommon with Tadvick only seeing this type of birth one other time in his career.
Martinez said she stayed in bed for three days as she endured the discomfort and pain for her baby's growth. Martinez said that from a rating of 1 to 10, the pain she experienced was 100. The pain was all worth it for Martinez, who said that the babies being okay was all that mattered to her.
Martinez said she took some time to visit baby Gabriella in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit when doctors allowed her. She said they were shocked to see her there, with doctors telling her she was still pregnant. Martinez said she needed to see her baby girl to get some comfort.
Baby Isabella shares the same birthday with dad John
Martinez's sacrifice was finally rewarded on March 10 when she gave birth to Isabella Rose Hernandez. She weighed one pound and eight ounces at birth. Martinez said the sight of her twin girls together was overwhelmingly powerful, adding that it was a new kind of love that she experienced holding them both together.
What made the day of Isabella's birth even more special was that it was her father's birthday too. According to John Hernandez, he was 36 when they had Gabby and 37 when they had Isabella.
Gabriella and Isabella may not share the same birthday, but they do share the same genomes as identical twins result from the fertilization of a single egg by a single sperm, according to Genome.gov.
