4 December 2020

The odds were stacked against twins Harry and Oliver who were born during the Covid-19 pandemic and faced two life-threatening conditions - TTTS (Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome) and SFGR (Selective Fetal Growth Restriction).

First time mum Roxy Cutajar, and partner Chris, were thrilled when they found out they were expecting twins. All the scans were running smoothly, until the one at 16-weeks when the couple were told there was quite a difference in size between the twins.

Swiftly referred to London’s Kings College Hospital Fetal Research Unit from their hometown of Ipswich, Roxy was having weekly scans to check the twins’ progress.

Diagnosed with TTTS and SFGR Roxy had a procedure to drain the amniotic fluid from around the babies.

“They couldn’t do laser surgery because the blood flow chopped and changed between both boys and the chords were too close. It was too risky, and we could have ended up losing them both,” said Roxy.

Sometimes babies affected by TTTS are also affected by sFGR, but these are separate conditions.

While TTTS is mainly related to the unequal volumes of blood shared by babies across their placenta, growth restriction is related to the size, function and each twin’s share of the placenta.

Roxy was on the brink of going into labour at 24 weeks. Scans were showing that one twin looked OK but the other was incredibly small.

Roxy said: “We were told there was a risk of brain injury, a stroke or one of the twins passing away in my tummy and we were asked if we wanted to terminate one of the babies to give the other one a better chance.

This was so difficult to hear. Our decision was to just carry on and hope for the best, which was supported by the staff.

Then another heart-breaking diagnosis – pulmonary stenosis which is a defect that occurs due to abnormal development of the prenatal heart.

At 29 weeks the couple were told that the smaller twin had stopped growing and were referred to Guys & St Thomas’.

The twins were eventually born at 31 weeks – Oliver was 4lbs and Harry only 2lbs and Roxy was given magnesium sulphate to help protect from cerebral palsy.

“We were naturally worried about Harry as the smaller twin, but he was feisty and spent eight weeks in neonatal and special care.

“But it was Olly who needed heart surgery which he had at two weeks old. We’ve been told Olly has a brain injury called PVL and he has lots of physio in order to develop the brain as much as possible.

We don’t know what the future holds but he has us and his brother Harry to help him.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for Harry either as he developed a hernia then sepsis and needed help with his breathing.

“Going through all of this during the pandemic was really, really tough,” said Roxy.

“Guys hospital was incredibly strict on who could see the babies, it was really upsetting for us as we had to split our time.

“Other families of twins and triplets were finding the same and we used PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) at the hospital to get the rules relaxed, which it did.”

The family were able to go home in August.

“We were able to enjoy the good weather and the boys are wonderful and getting on really well. I just hope I can see my family soon. As they live in Malta, they have never met the boys and I haven’t seen them in two years.”