Twins were born two months apart and in two different years in Italy. A rare case that arouses curiosity. We explain to you.
They are twins but were not born on the same day. Andrea and Alessandro are even two months apart. The first was born on December 24, 2018, his brother was born on February 22, 2019. This exceptional case is reported in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
Gemelli, ma non coetanei “Nati a due mesi di distanza, uniti dalla voglia di vivere” https://t.co/BSmP2xHPEi pic.twitter.com/lME22StT7q
— Corriere della Sera (@Corriere) April 18, 2019
Preserving the placenta to save the baby
At the end of December 2018, Lucia, 40, pregnant with twins, has losses. She was urgently received in a hospital in Lombardy. At 24 weeks of pregnancy, or 6 months, she gave birth prematurely on December 24 to a baby weighing 800 grams: Alessandro. This is a very premature baby, as about 2,500 are born each year in France. The baby had only a 50% chance of surviving.
Doctors face a medical dilemma: what to do with the second baby? Inside its mother’s womb, it is more likely to survive, but there is a risk of infection or bleeding. The team manages to save the placenta and part of the umbilical cord. The goal of the operation is to prolong the pregnancy by at least ten days. The baby is finally born 60 days later: Andrea is born at 33 weeks and weighs 3 kilos.
An exceptional case
Today Andrea lives with her parents but her “big brother” has to stay in the hospital for a few more weeks. The case is very rare. In the maternity ward, this is the first time that a birth of this kind has occurred. This also surprised the civil status people who had to register the births. Sergio, the father of the two twins, tells in Corriere della Serra : “When Alessandro was born, they said to me: Excuse me, should we write that a twin was born, but the other is not yet born?”. Andrea and Alessandro will surely continue to arouse curiosity all their lives: the two twins were born in two different years and will therefore not be the same age.