Twins born just after the abortion limit are now flourishing, leaving doctors “amazed by their progress”.
Parents Carly and Gareth were told by medics that the twins had a very low chance of survival after they were born at 24 weeks.
At the time, Gethin weighed just 1lb 6 oz at birth, his sister Amelia 1lb 5 oz.
24 weeks
In Britain, abortions generally can take place up to 24 weeks, while children believed to be disabled can be aborted up to birth.
The twins spent time in Wrexham’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Maelor Hospital wrapped in special plastic for warmth and placed on ventilators in their incubators.
They both faced serious medical issues with Amelia requiring laser eye surgery and Gethin experiencing bleeding on his brain.
Amazing
However, the twins have now made remarkable recoveries and are set to start nursery in September.
Carly said: “Only now we’re out the other side of it do we realise how flabbergasting it is that the twins have escaped with very few issues.
“Everyone is amazed by their progress. They are so incredibly resilient. We’re in absolute awe of them both.”
Premature babies’ boom
Last year, a Newcastle hospital shared how it has seen survival rates for premature babies’ boom since it successfully delivered Britain’s first 24-week baby.
The Newcastle Chronicle reported that survival rates for 23 weeks’ gestation have almost tripled at the Royal Victoria Infirmary’s (RVI) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit from 25 per cent in 2006 to between 60 and 70 per cent now.
For babies born at 24 weeks, the survival rate at the RVI is as high as 80 per cent.