Chinchilla mum defies the odds with miracle twins born at just 25 weeks

“We might have had two angel babies”: A Chinchilla mother diagnosed with a rare pregnancy condition shares the frightening ordeal of going into premature labour and the heroes who were by their side as three lives hung in the balance.

Now “babbling” and tottering along at nearly two years old, identical twins Nash and Reuben are a far cry from tiny babies fighting for survival after they were born at just 25 weeks.

Parents Nikiha and Matt Davies were thrilled to learn they were having identical twin boys, but problems started around the 18-week mark when a condition called twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome was uncovered in a scan.

Chinchilla mum Nikiha Davies with her miracle twins Nash and Reuben. Photo/RFDS

TTTS is a rare condition that affects identical twins who share a single placenta, where an uneven distribution of blood can put one or both babies at risk.

“At my 18-week scan they suspected that something wasn’t quite right,” Mrs Davies said.

“I was sent from Toowoomba down to the Mater Hospital in Brisbane and had further ultrasounds, where they confirmed that I had stage two twin-to-twin transfusion and I had surgery the next day.

“It’s a pretty risky surgery, because obviously you’re going into the uterus, but when you’ve got unwell babies in there that are fighting each other to survive there’s a risk of losing one or both of the babies.”

Twins Nash and Reuben were delivered 36 hours after arriving at Mater Mothers’ Hospital, weighing just 900 grams each. Photo/RFDS

Just seven weeks later, Mrs Davies woke to her waters breaking at 4am, kicking off a race to reach the vital resources the babies would need to survive before they came out.

“I woke up to them breaking and I knew instantly that it was my waters that had gone, but it was also really terrifying because there was quite a bit of blood in the waters as well,” she said.

Twins Nash and Reuben were delivered 36 hours after arriving at Mater Mothers’ Hospital, weighing just 900 grams each. Photo/RFDS

The couple drove to Chinchilla Hospital where they were flown to Brisbane via the Royal Flying Doctor Service, reaching the Mater Hospital before 8.30am that morning.

“Because of my waters breaking, I was put on antibiotics and given steroids for their lungs,” Mrs Davies said.

“I also had a 24-hour infusion of magnesium sulfate. Premature babies are at really high risk of having brain haemorrhages, so the magnesium sulfate helps to stop that from happening.”

Mrs Davies said she unfortunately ended up with an infection in her waters, which made her quite unwell and sent the babies into distress.

“(Doctors) decided that it was better off for the babies to come out at that point,” she said.

“I was terrified and I had a lot of guilt. I thought it was my fault, that it was my body’s fault for failing them.”

Nash and Reuben were born on January 29, baffling doctors by breathing on their own despite their very early birth at 25 weeks.

The Davies are now appealing to Queenslanders to support the Flying Doctor with a Christmas donation. Photo/RFDS

With three lives at stake that day, Mrs Davies said she doesn’t know how her family's story would have ended without the RFDS.

“There’d be so many people that wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the RFDS,” she said.

“I know our story would probably be very different. We might have had two angel babies.

“It was a huge relief to be on that aircraft, and (flight nurse) Jeanie was incredible – a genuine angel of the sky. She was calm and gentle and hugely professional.”

Miracle Twins Nash and Reuben will celebrate their second birthday in January next year. Photo/RFDS

Today the cheeky boys are happy and healthy and meeting all their milestones as best as their doting parents can expect.

The Davieses are now appealing to Queenslanders to support the Flying Doctors with a Christmas donation.

RFDS Queensland section CEO Meredith Staib said the organisation hoped to raise in excess of $450,000 to help fund neonatal emergency training and equipment.

“We want to ensure that every mother in Queensland will be able to access the world-class care that Nikiha and Matt experienced,” she said.

“But we simply couldn’t perform the job we do without community support. Your donations help fund our vital lifesaving work.”

If you’d like to help out, you can donate to the RFDS here.