The proud mother gave birth to three children conceived from one egg, despite many difficulties and life-threatening dangers to have these cute angels.

Ffion, Madison, and Paige, three adorable baby girls, have finally returned home after spending six weeks in intensive care. Credit for their perseverance in deciding not to terminate the pregnancy, despite doctors’ concerns about the rarity of their triplets being conceived from a single egg splitting into three, goes to their proud parents, Karen and Ian Gilbert.

 

Born two months prematurely via cesarean section on August 2nd, these tiny miracles have overcome the odds. At birth, the girls weighed only 3.8 pounds, 3.5 pounds, and 3.4 pounds, respectively. Remarkably, they are thriving and doing well at eight weeks old.

Karen, 32, from Pontypool, Monmouthshire, reflected on the whirlwind experience, saying, “It’s been crazy. I still feel like someone’s going to tell me I’ve had my time with them now and take them away.” The journey began after their marriage, a honeymoon in New York, and the revelation that they were expecting.

 

Initially, they believed it was just one baby, but at eight weeks, Karen experienced severe pains, prompting concern of a miscarriage. To their astonishment, it was three babies vying for space. The pregnancy took its toll, but Karen is now taking her time to recover and get to know her three beautiful girls. She expressed excitement about their emerging personalities and getting to know them better.

Despite being eight weeks old, the three girls are still tiny, each weighing just six pounds, not even the size of an average newborn. Proud father Ian, 34, a business manager, said, “At first, they didn’t look real, and you could pick them up with one hand. It was a bit of a shock. Now that we’ve got them home, we are coming to terms with it. They are starting to feel like our own.”

 

The journey to bring these triplets into the world was not without its challenges. Karen experienced a frightening incident when she fell down the stairs while pregnant. Fortunately, they made it through, and now the identical triplets share the same placenta and fluid, which has put strain on Karen’s body as they all grew rapidly.

Medical professionals were concerned about twin-to-twin syndrome due to their identical nature, where the babies can take each other’s fluid or space, potentially leading to complications. Despite offers of terminations from different hospitals, the couple couldn’t fathom that option because these babies were theirs. They underwent regular scans to ensure the babies were growing well.

 

During the final scan at Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny, Karen experienced severe pain, which escalated into contractions, leading to her giving birth at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport. They were then transferred back for antenatal care.

Now, the parents are relieved to have their three girls home. Karen, the administrative assistant, expressed her concerns during the challenging journey of bringing the triplets home. “We were worried the hospital wouldn’t have enough beds, and we’d have to split them up. It would have been horrible. There was also the worry that one would be ready to come home before the others. Luckily, we managed to keep them together. The doctors thought it could be up to three months before we could bring them home, so we feel privileged to have them here with us so soon.”

 

Julian Hayman, the press officer for Nevill Hall Hospital, shared the excitement among the midwives about having a triplet birth at the Royal Gwent Hospital. “Everyone involved has taken great care of the girls to ensure their speedy return home.”