Rare ‘MoMo’ twins sharing a placenta and amniotic sac will be delivered next week


  • Selina Curtis thought she would never have a baby after son was stillborn
  • In April became pregnant with monochorionic and monoamniotic twins
  • MoMo twinsoccur in 1 in 60,000 pregnancies and 50% die before birth
  • Despite being warned they would not survive, twins are due next week 

Madlen Davies for MailOnline

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A woman is set to defy the odds by giving birth to rare twins – despite being told by medics it is unlikely they will survive.

Selina Curtis, 27, is expecting ‘MoMo’ or monochorionic and monoamniotic twins, which means they develop in the same amniotic sac and share the same placenta.

It affects one in 60,000 pregnancies and around 50 per cent end badly.

When Ms Curtis learned of her ‘MoMo’ pregnancy in April she was warned by medics that she would likely lose both babies before the 14-week mark. 

But despite the doctor’s telling her it was high risk pregnancy, Ms Curtis is now due to give birth to Millie-Ribbon and Mollie-Robbin next week.

Selina Curtis, 27, with partner Scott Fleetwood, son Cyprus, 9, and daughter Lillie, 6, from Blackpool are having monoamniotic twins, a rare pregnancy that occurs in just one in 60,000

Ms Curtis said: ‘They told us at the beginning that there would probably be no chance of them surviving.

‘They didn’t think they’d make it to 14 weeks. It’s been a huge battle but we’re here at last.

She continued: ‘All the way through I was thinking I would lose them. You can’t enjoy your pregnancy; it was so scary. 

WHAT ARE MOMO TWINS? 

Mo-Mo (monoamniotic-monochorionic) develop in the same amniotic sac and share the same placenta.

Though they share a placenta within their mother’s uterus they have two separate umbilical cords for nourishment.

They are always identical.  

MoMo twins are rare, occurring in approximately 1 in 35 to 1 in 60 pregnancies.

Unfortunately, monoamniotic twins are at great risk for health complications due to the close proximity of the two umbilical cords in the amniotic sac. 

This makes it particularly easy for the twins to become entangled in each other’s cords or to compress one another’s cords, endangering their oxygen and food supply. 

The survival rate for MoMo twins is approximately 50 per cent.

Source: Twins UK 

‘You’re just glad to get through the day, and then you wake up and it all starts again.

‘We’re very lucky. We can’t believe it. We’ve already got a big family anyway and this just makes it even bigger. 

‘My parents are going from 13 grandchildren to 15.’

Ms Curtis, who lives in Blackpool, feared she would never be a mother after suffering a traumatic stillbirth in 2006, losing baby Morgan.

But she says she is excited about introducing the new twins to Cyprus, nine, and Lillie-Sue, six. 

She said: ‘They can’t wait to meet them. My little boy said he might cry when he meets them, and my little girl can’t wait to get her hands on them. 

‘She’s made a chart counting down to when they’re due.’

Ms Curtis said a ‘MoMo’ pregnancy is ‘very rare’ and her doctor – a twin specialist – had never seen one before.

She said: ‘I was shocked because there are no twins in my family at all. We’d be more likely to win the lottery.’

Ms Curtis and the twins’ father Scott Fleetwood, 28, will head to Blackpool Victoria hospital for a planned Caesarean next week.

The hospital has never experienced a pregnancy of this kind before.

Ms Curtis added: ‘I’m a bit nervous because this type of pregnancy has never happened at Blackpool hospital before. 

‘They’re going into intensive care for a little bit after they’re born – but you never know, they could come out fine and breathing on their own.’ 

Unlike other twins, monoamniotic twins develop in the same amniotic sac and share the same placenta. Despite being told it was a high risk pregnancy, the couple decided to go ahead and Ms Curtis is booked in for a Caesarean section next week

 

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