Breanna Dell was only able to hold her newborn twins, Amelia Jane and Elhora Auri, for just an hour after they were born on February 29, but she said every moment was filled with “peace” and “awe.”
Three months before that, 17th week of pregnancyShe and her husband, Matthew Dell, were having an ultrasound to find out the gender of what they believe to be their first baby.
of Atlanta Couple He was shocked to see that the heartbeats he saw on the monitor were those of two girls: conjoined twins fused together at the torso.
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“Everything changed in that moment,” Del, 24, a stay-at-home mom, told Fox News Digital in a phone interview.
“I panicked and started crying.”
Amelia Jane Dell and Elhora Auri Dell were born at 7:37 a.m. on Feb. 29. They weighed 3.5 pounds each. (Photo by Mandy Daniel)
Doctors told the couple that there was little chance of separating the twins, meaning their chances of survival were slim.
“Given how their hearts are connected, that would be far too complicated,” Dell said.
The couple saw Many experts Used for MRI and other scans.
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“I went back and forth to see the doctors in the hope that they were wrong and something could be done, but to no avail,” Dell said.
The month before the twins were born Cardiologist They determined there was no way to separate the twins and that they probably would not survive.
The Dells focused on preparing for delivery and the various outcomes they might face.
“Their minds were literally one unit,” Dell said. “I was always asked, ‘Can’t you just save one of them?’ And you couldn’t, because they couldn’t survive without each other.”
With this grim news, the Dells focused on delivery and preparing for the various consequences they might face.
“Northside Hospital [in Atlanta] “It was wonderful,” Dell said. “They were so accommodating and considerate of our situation and our family.”
“I never lost hope”
Dell already has a one-year-old son, Dallas. Have an abortion — but, she said, “I never thought about that.”
“We were always thinking, ‘What can we do to save them and protect them?'” she said.
“Our faith was the biggest factor in our decision.”
“Our faith was the biggest factor in the decision we made,” she added. “I don’t think anybody could get through something like this without faith. Have Faith“
Dell said despite the twins’ prognosis, he believes they are a gift from God and were given to him for a reason.
“When I was first told my twins were conjoined, I was just devastated and filled with sadness, confusion, anxiety and fear,” the twins’ mother recalled, “But no one can perfectly predict the future and no one knows what the outcome will be.” (Photo by Mandy Daniel)
“When I first heard they were a consort, I was just filled with despair, sadness, confusion, anxiety and fear,” she recalled.
“But no one can perfectly predict the future, and you never know what the outcome will be.”
But as her pregnancy progressed, Del said she faced tough emotional struggles.
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“I have severe Anxiety attacks“I knew what the outcome would be, but you really can’t prepare yourself for it,” she said.
She continued, “In the third trimester, I started having terrible brain fog, stomach aches, and I could tell my body was telling me, ‘Hey, you’re not OK.'”
“Sense of peace”
Amelia Jane Dell and Elhora Auri Dell were born at 7:37 a.m. on February 29th.
Each weighed 3.5 pounds.
Matthew and Breanna Dell hold their twin daughters, who were born on Feb. 29. “It was amazing to see their little bodies still moving,” Breanna Dell said. (Photo by Mandy Daniel)
The girls came into the world with their arms around each other, exactly as a subsequent ultrasound confirmed.
“The way they connected was just adorable. From the moment they were born they just held each other in big hugs,” Dell said.
“Just knowing that they were there and that I was keeping them alive was a peace of mind.”
“It was amazing to see their little bodies still moving,” she continued.
“They didn’t move much, they didn’t open their eyes, but just knowing they were there and that I knew they were alive gave me peace of mind. I couldn’t imagine not seeing them.”
What you need to know about conjoined twins
Conjoined twins Statistics show that this is a rare case, occurring in 1 in 50,000 to 200,000 births.
According to StatPearls, a medical information source on the US National Library of Medicine website, the condition occurs when a single fertilized egg splits into two embryos more than 13 days after fertilization.
It is about three times more likely to affect girls than boys.
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“Conjoined twins are classified based on where they are joined and the organs they share,” Dr. Marshall Runge, MD, CEO of Michigan Medicine, who was not involved in Dell or the babies’ care, told Fox News Digital.
“Survival rates will vary greatly depending on whether or not we can successfully separate the shared organs.”
Doctors noted that twins who share parts of the heart and brain have the highest mortality rate.
Matthew and Breanna Dell are pictured here with their 1-year-old son, Dallas Dell. (Breanna Dell)
“Even if they survive the initial separation, many will face long-term health problems and may require additional surgeries,” Runge said.
Doctors say the overall survival rate for conjoined twins after separation is about 75 percent, but it can vary widely depending on several factors.
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According to StatPearls, the majority of conjoined twins (28%) are fused at the thorax (torso) and abdomen.
Another 18.5% join in the thoracic region and 10% join in the abdominal region.
Conjoined twins are three times more likely to occur in girls than boys. (Photo by Mandy Daniel)
In 10% of cases, there are mismatched twins (parasitic twins), where one twin is less developed than the other.
In 6% of cases, the twins are conjoined at the skull.
Lifted by support
Throughout their journey, the Dells said they have received a lot of support from family, friends, their church and people who have reached out to them on social media.
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“We have a wonderful church family that surrounds us with love and prayers,” Dell said.
She also created a Facebook page for the girls where people could rally around the family and send messages of encouragement and love.
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After their time with the babies was over, the Dells Healing and Recovery.
The part of the body where the baby is attached plays a key factor in whether or not you are a candidate for separation surgery. (Photo by Mandy Daniel)
“It comes and goes,” Dell said. “Sometimes you feel OK, and then you have really tough moments, tough days, tough weeks.”
She also said, “I really miss my babies.”
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Dells Adding to your family future.
“We definitely want more kids,” Dell told Fox News Digital.
“The question we got was, ‘Can’t you just save one of them?'” Breanna Dell said. “It was impossible, because they couldn’t survive without each other.” (Photo by Mandy Daniel)
According to StatPearls, having had a previous conjoined twin pregnancy does not increase the risk of recurrence.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Northside Hospital in Atlanta for comment.
