Simon O’Rourke - CEO and Founder of EIRCA Ltd Online hideout of Simon O’Rourke

So, we’re having twins! with a catch

A couple of months ago, myself and Amanda found out we were pregnant again, which is fantastic news for us. Liam (our son) is also extremely happy. Two weeks ago, the pregnancy got a little more exciting: Twins. Identical twins.

Today, we found out that the twins are “MoMo twins”. “MoMo twins” is short for Monochorionic Monoamniotic Twins. MoMo twins are the rarest form of twins. In short, this just became a very high risk pregnancy, the highest possible risk for twins.

A bit of information:

Monoamniotic twins are identical twins that develop inside the same amniotic sac. Also known as MoMo twins (Monoamniotic-Monochorionic), monoamniotic twins are always identical. These share a placenta within their mother’s uterus, but have two separate umbilical cords for nourishment. Monoamniotic twins are rare, occurring in approximately 1 in 35,000 to 1 in 60,000 pregnancies. Monoamniotic triplets can also develop, but this is extremely rare.

Unfortunately, monoamniotic twins are at great risk for health complications due to the close proximity of the two umbilical cords in the amniotic sac. This makes it particularly easy for the twins to become entangled in each other’s cords, or to compress one another’s cords, endangering their oxygen and food supply. The survival rate for monoamniotic twins is approximately 50% if the woman goes full term (40 weeks)

Of course, this is a scary prospect for any family, ours included. Instead of dwelling on the negatives, however, we will be as optimistic as ever and make sure that Amanda gets the best health care possible. Our new Doctor, a very nice Dutch gentleman, assured as that with bed-rest at 24 weeks, and constant monitoring it is not all doom and gloom. Amanda will have A Caesarean Section at 32 weeks, which should reduce the risk by around 20%, all being well.

I decided to document the process of dealing with our new identical bundles of joy for a few reasons:

1. They are my kids. They deserve the attention.
2. I firmly believe it will help with the whole process. It’s difficult to sit and dwell silently on the possibility of complications.
3. When our babies are born, this journal of sorts will act as notice to other parents-in-waiting of MoMo twins that the odds can be defied.
4. Not much is understood about MoMo twins. What little is known is certainly not passed on to the parents by your run-of-the-mill Doctor and hospital. We thankfully have a doctor that is blunt, open, and extremely helpful. He will be my fountain of information over the coming months.
5. So many other reasons

“A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.”

Carl Sandburg, two time Pulitzer prize winning author

“Two babies is God’s way of giving the world an extra helping hand.”

Simon O’Rourke, won a goldfish once