Families’ stories

Welcome to our patient stories page – a series of short films sharing the experiences of families who have been cared for by the Fetal Medicine Unit at St George’s.

We know how helpful it can be to hear from families who may have experienced a similar situation to your own, so we are very grateful to these families for sharing their stories with us.

We are also incredibly grateful to Faye Ward, one of our patients included in the films below, for producing these for us and supporting the launch of the Twins Trust Centre of Research and Clinical Excellence.

Shelley & Marcus’s story

“We felt that with their close eye on the pregnancy they would be able to intervene at any stage if necessary.”

At ten weeks gestation, Shelley and Marcus found out they were having triplets. They also discovered two of their babies shared a placenta and were at risk of developing twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).

Over the weeks that followed, the babies were closely monitored to ensure they were growing normally. Shelley and Marcus say they felt reassured by the expertise of the team, and knowing that St George’s had the facilities to carry out laser surgery if necessary.

The symptoms of TTTS didn’t progress beyond the early stages of pregnancy, and Shelley delivered three healthy baby girls, Emily, Sophie and Molly in August 2019.

Tara and Matthew’s story 

“We’re both just so grateful to St George’s and all the staff for the care that we received there.”

After discovering they were pregnant with triplets, Tara and Matthew were referred to St George’s as a specialist centre for multiple pregnancies.

At their initial scan, they found out the babies shared the same placenta and potentially the same sac, which is very rare.

At 12 weeks gestation, Professor Asma Khalil was able to confirm the babies had their own individual sacs, but their shared placenta put them at risk of a number of complications, and it was unlikely all three babies could be carried beyond 24 weeks.

The couple made the decision to have a selective reduction, which would give two babies the best chance of survival.

At 34 weeks, Tara gave birth to two healthy boys, Freddie and Archie.

Michelle’s story

“They’re doing absolutely fine, developing typically and healthy thanks to the team at St George’s hospital.”

During Michelle’s pregnancy, she read about the research Twins Trust had funded around twin growth charts, led by Professor Asma Khalil.  At 23 weeks gestation, she mentioned the twin growth charts to her local hospital, but they were still using growth charts based on growth patterns for singleton babies.

At her 28 weeks + 4 gestation scan, her consultant raised concerns that the abdominal circumferences of both twins, although having increased, had not increased according to the growth curve. They planned to deliver them early, but Michelle was keen to seek a second opinion.

Michelle arranged to see Asma, who measured her using the twins growth charts and was able to confirm the babies were growing and developing normally. Michelle says it’s thanks to the team at St George’s that her twin boys, Tommy and George, were born happy and healthy at 36 weeks.

Faye & Tom’s story

“The midwife team were incredible. They became friends, confidents, counsellors, as well as doing their job of looking after Faye physically.”

Faye and Tom were at their 20-week scan at St George’s when they discovered Faye’s cervix was starting to open. To prevent early delivery, Professor Asma Khalil recommended Faye have a cervical stitch.

Following the procedure, Faye stayed at St George’s on Carmen ward under the care of Asma and her team for two months. Faye and Tom say the care they received during that time was incredible.

At 36 weeks, Faye gave birth to a healthy, happy boy and girl – Finn and Edie.