Twin boys were born eight days apart in a rare arrival at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax this week.
Edonna Bean's pregnancy with the twins was considered high risk, so she came to Halifax from Bermuda because of the IWK’s world-class facilities.
She thought she arrived plenty early, but the babies came soon, if not on the same day. Pregnancies usually last 38 weeks, but she went into labour at 25 weeks. She said the staff were wonderful.
“Everyone's acted like they've known me my whole life. I was their primary focus. That was very humbling,” she said.
Her son Emyr was born weighing one pound 14 ounces.
“I'll never forget that, as long as I live. But he was worth it. My little miracle,” she said.
More space in the womb
But then her contractions subsided. Her second twin seemed to be happy where he was.
“Each day that I woke up he was relaxing and playing and having a good old time with the extra space. It was wonderful,” she said.
Because the babies were so premature, every extra day in utero was important. But after eight days, Bean got an infection and her second boy, Esai, was delivered by caesarean section.
It’s only the second case of twins being separated by birth at the IWK in 25 years.
Bean is happy with the outcome. “It'll just be more birthday celebrations,” she said.
Dr. Michiel van den Hof credited the mother and his staff with the safe, if separate, arrival of the boys.
“We had a mother that was extremely motivated to do the very best for her children. We have a world-class medical team,” he said.