When a Scottish couple learned they were pregnant with triplets, they were forced to sacrifice their conjoined twins to save the third baby.
Jemma Haig and fiancé Murray McKirdy were excited when a scan revealed they were expecting three babies last year, but their happiness quickly turned to tragedy. Doctors at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary told the couple that not all of their babies could survive.
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The scan shows that Haig carried two amniotic sacs—one containing the conjoined twins and the other holding the third baby. The twins, who were joined at the chest, shared a heart, respiratory system and digestive system. Doctors told the parents that the twins’ likelihood of surviving would be “one in half a million,” the couple recalled to Edinburgh Evening News.
They were given the option to undergo a selective reduction to remove the conjoined twins or they would lose all three children. “We came to the informed decision to have a selective reduction of our conjoined twins as we couldn’t bear to make them suffer,” Haig said.
Following this heartbreaking procedure, Haig maintained a normal pregnancy until she reached 32 weeks. She was bleeding abnormally, which doctors feared could be a placental abruption.
After days in the hospital, doctors performed an emergency c-section on Haig and delivered her son Thomas, who weighed 4 pounds, 10 ounces.
The infant spent three weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit of the hospital, where he was treated for suspected sepsis and mild breathing issues. Thomas is now a healthy 17-week-old.
Now, Haig and McKirdy, along with Thomas and their three-year-old daughter Abigail, will take on a 27-mile ‘Go the Distance’ challenge to support Bliss, a charity that supports the families of premature babies.
The family is taking part in the fundraiser to highlight the long distances parents often travel to visit their premature or sick babies in the hospital. The charity notes that parents of premature or sick children travel an average of 27 miles per day for visits, though some families may trek 100 miles or more.
“We had a 20-mile round trip to visit our son, but some parents often have to travel much further… As my partner had to return to work, I often found myself alone on the unit. I often looked on Bliss’ Facebook page and spoke with mothers in the same position as me,” Haig said. ‘As a neonatal unit isn’t a place any new mother wants to be, Bliss made me comfortable and made sure I knew what was going on with my baby and I cannot thank them enough for all they do for myself and other parents.”
The family will complete the ‘Go the Distance’ challenge by hiking and walking 27 miles over the course of two days, raising money for Bliss in the process.
