Pregnancy
Healthy twin sends out distress symbols from mother’s womb to save her sister
These girls had a bond like no other before they were even born.
Irene Markianou
12.12.22

Poppy and Winnie McBride are three-year-old twins and they are the best of friends.

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A post shared by Leah (@tinymactwins)

They are really close to each other and they seem to have an unbreakable bond. In fact, that bond developed early when they still were in the womb.

You see, one helped the other survive, and their parents and doctors give them credits for that.

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A post shared by Leah (@tinymactwins)

Leah McBride, 28, found out she was pregnant after she and her husband, Austin, 27, had been trying for a baby for about a year.

They were excited when they found that they were having twins in fall 2019. But things didn’t go exactly as planned.

At 21 weeks pregnant, and without ever having heard of the condition before, Leah was told the babies had twin-to-twin transfusion.

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A post shared by Leah (@tinymactwins)

This practically means that, because of an imbalance of blood flow, one baby becomes a donor while the other baby receives all the nutrients.

Leah’s doctors suggested the donor baby should be aborted, otherwise she might have a heart attack, while her sister was in danger of suffering a stroke.

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A post shared by Leah (@tinymactwins)

The mother was shocked and confused, but all she knew for sure was she didn’t want to give up on either of her babies.

Thanks to a reference to a doctor who specialized in this kind of condition, she went to Memorial Hermann Hospital, Houston, where she was told surgery was possible and it could, in fact, be successful.

Indeed, Leah had the surgery and she was sent home on bed rest.

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A post shared by Leah (@tinymactwins)

At 27 weeks pregnant, her waters broke, and she was then rushed to the hospital. It was still too early to deliver her babies, so doctors made sure to give her steroids to stop the labor.

At 31 weeks, the time had come. You see, Poppy, the tiniest of the two babies, weighing only 1lb 11oz, showed signs of distress in the womb. Her heartbeat was all over the place and doctors decided that the twins had to be delivered immediately.

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However, once the babies were born, everyone realized that it was not actually Poppy who was in danger.

Winnie, the until-then healthy twin, at 3lbs 8oz, was born with underdeveloped lungs.

The baby had to undergo surgery at just 14 days old, since fluid was building up in her brain.

As doctors told the twins’ mom, it was actually little Poppy who saved Winnie’s life.

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A post shared by Leah (@tinymactwins)

It seems that the smaller baby felt that her sister was having a hard time in there and was in danger. So, she kind of stressed out, which made doctors decide to take the babies out right there and then.

Today, the girls are three years old and they are rocking toddler life.

They are both thriving and their mom is using social media to share their positive story hoping to encourage parents going through a similar situation as they did a few years ago.

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A post shared by Leah (@tinymactwins)

Watch the McBride twins’ story in a short video below.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

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A post shared by Leah (@tinymactwins)

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