An Iowa couple, Shelby Magnani and James Croskey, were given the surprise of their life when Shelby went to the doctor for a stomach ache and found out she was pregnant. Not only was she pregnant, she was six months into her pregnancy and carrying monoamniotic twins.
Shelby said, “I had really sharp pain in my left side and went into the doctor, and they said we think you might be pregnant. They told me I was six months and told me to get down to the ER. They did an ultrasound and told me it was twins. ” Fiancé James exclaimed, “It’s pretty nuts, still sinking in.”
Dr. Jennifer Krupp with Perinatal Center of Iowa said, “About one to two percent of all pregnancies are twins but even rarer than that is monoamniotic twins. They have one placenta and one amniotic sac and both of those twins share the placenta as well as the sac. Less than one per cent of all twins are monoamniotic, The entanglement of the cords is what we worry about. We bring the patients into the hospital at 24 to 26 weeks, so we can monitor the babies several times a day, because we know the risk of one or both of those babies dying is fairly significant.”
Despite the grim odds, Magnani delivered two healthy baby girls via Cesarean section. The twins were very tiny; weighing only three and four pounds each. Although they will have to spend the next several weeks in the NICU at Mercy Hospital Medical Center in Des Moines, they are expected to be ok.
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Magnani said, “I`m still trying to process. It’s crazy how high-risk monoamniotic twins can be, and how good they’re doing now; it’s really a blessing. They’re both just little miracles, it could have been so many things that went wrong that didn’t.” Croskey added, “I love them, I love them more than anything.”
The couple named their girls, Ava and Anna, and the twins will be able to go home with their parents in a few weeks. While there may be a huge learning curve for Shelby and James, they are thrilled to be new parents. According to Fox, Shelby and James are in school at Des Moines Area Community College for automotive technology.
