An operation to save their lives...BEFORE THEY WERE BORN

Tanya Hall fell pregnant naturally with three babies – but then she got devastating news

- ANNA MATHESON, NIAMH SHACKLETON

You never know how you’re going to cope with life’s toughest situations until you’re there, facing them head-on. For me, having a family was something I thought would come naturally – and go smoothly – so when I fell pregnant in September 2018, I envisaged the next nine months would be filled buying baby clothes, decorating the nursery with my husband, Kris, and rifling through baby-name books.

Only, at six weeks, I had a small bleed so I was booked in for an emergency scan. At the appointment, Kris gripped my hand as we watched for any signs on the sonographer’s face, but she smiled and assured us the heartbeat was strong.

The relief soon turned to disbelief as the sonographer explained the second heartbeat was strong, too. I glanced at Kris, seeing the look of confusion mirroring my own as we asked to confirm what we both thought we’d just heard – we were having twins.

It was only then that the sonographer’s expression shifted slightly as she told us she was going to ask a senior colleague to take a look at the ultrasound. My mind raced.

Natural event

Moments later, a consultant appeared and asked us whether we’d used IVF. ‘I only ask as it’s unusual to be expecting triplets naturally,’ she said.

Triplets? I burst out in laughter as the doctor confirmed we were expecting three identical babies. ‘You can stop counting now,’ I joked. She smiled, but then her expression turned serious as she explained the risks associated with multiple pregnancies, including twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) – an imbalance in blood flow between the babies, causing one to get more nutrients than the other. If it was serious, one baby could get too big and suffer heart failure, while the other could be underdeveloped.