Rare ‘mono mono’ newborn twins doing well in US, held hands for mom to see

Abdominal ultrasonography of monoamniotic twins at a gestational age of 15 weeks. There is no sign of any membrane between the fetuses. A coronal plane is shown of the twin at left, and a sagittal plane of parts of the upper thorax and head is shown of the twin at right. (Wikipedia photo)

AKRON, Ohio – Twin girls born with a rare condition in the U.S. were breathing on their own, and their mom said she and her husband were able to hold them on Mother’s Day.

Sarah Thistlethwaite said babies Jillian and Jenna were removed from ventilators Sunday after they were able to breathe comfortably.

“It’s just hard to put into words how amazing it feels to know the girls are OK,” she told The Associated Press.

The identical twin girls shared the same amniotic sac and placenta. Such births are called monoamniotic, or “mono mono,” and doctors say they occur in about one of every 10,000 pregnancies.

They were born Friday in Ohio, grasping each other’s hands when doctors lifted them up for their parents to see after delivery.

Thistlethwaite told the Akron Beacon Journal that this was “the best Mother’s Day present ever.”

“They’re already best friends,” said Thistlethwaite, 32. “I can’t believe they were holding hands. That’s amazing.”

Dr. Melissa Mancuso helped deliver the twins, one of several amniotic pairs she has helped deliver in 11 years. She said the twins are at risk during pregnancy of entanglement of umbilical cords, which can cause death.