They were one in 200 million when their mother gave birth to two sets of identical triplets who shared a plac.enta. The three boys—Jimmy, Jensen, and Jaxson—arrived at Liverpool Women’s Hospital on April 26—a month early. Just a few seconds apart, Gina and Craig Dewdney delivered their three children through C-section. At a 13-week scan, the Cheshire couple learned with shock that they were expecting not one, but three children. Thirty medical personnel, according to Mrs. Dewdney, 34, were present in the delivery room because each newborn required a separate neonatal team.
Because the children shared the same ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇɴᴛᴀ, her pregnancy was classified as ‘high ʀɪsᴋ.’ Because the nutrients and nourishment from the mother must be shared three ways, children born this way are more prone to have problems. The majority of triplets are born through .I.V.F, and physicians estimate that the chances of ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠɪɴɢ three identical offspring spontaneously are one in 200 million. It’s much less likely that all three infants will share a ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇɴᴛᴀ. The fact that Jaxson had his own amniotic sac, a thin layer of plasma that surrounds the ᴇᴍʙʀʏᴏ throughout pregnancy, adds to the trio’s uniqueness.
Monochorionic diamniotic triplets are three infants who share a ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇɴᴛᴀ but have their own amniotic sac, according to medical terminology. Jimmy, Jensen, and Jaxson were born one minute and 52 seconds after the ‘knife was inserted.’ The babies, who are now five months old, spent six weeks in the neonatal ᴄʀɪᴛɪᴄᴀʟ care unit before going home for regular check-ups. Bʀᴇᴀsᴛfᴇᴇᴅing and a lack of sleep have been challenging for Mrs Dewdney, but the babies have begun to establish their own personalities.
Last autumn, the mother said that she became pregnant after only a few weeks of trying and that she ‘had this sense’ she was going to have more than one child. Ms Dewdney seemed to be expecting three identical boys, according to consultants, and they were all sharing the same ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇɴᴛᴀ. When ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ vessels become united, a pregnancy of this kind is more prone to develop complications like preᴇᴄʟᴀᴍᴘsɪᴀ or transfusion sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ. Other issues to be aware of include gestational ᴅɪᴀʙᴇᴛᴇs and fetal development limitation.
However, thes.e.xof the twins appeared to be mixed up at 16 weeks, and the couple was told they were expecting two girls and a boy. ‘At 16 weeks, I was informed it looked like two girls and one boy and two ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇɴᴛᴀs fused together, but physicians couldn’t identify where it had been fused,’ the dental therapist continued. “Oh wonderful, get a little of each,” I thought. Ms Dewdney stated that she purchased clothing for the two girls and the boy, gave them names, and ‘imagined’ what life would be like with them.
At her 24-week check, the couple was told that it was certainly three identical boys and that getting a clean picture during ultrasounds was difficult because “someone’s foot would get in the way, or someone’s head would get in the way, or they would kick each other.” Ms Dewdney was scheduled for a ᴄ-sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ, but her waters ʙʀᴏᴋᴇ at 34 weeks, she began to feel ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs, and she was taken to the hospital for an ᴇᴍᴇʀɢᴇɴᴄʏ C-sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ.
