Twin Trauma

Kaiyla will always be a special part of Bekka’s family.

- Alice McIntyre

Sitting in the hospital waiting room, I felt sick with worry.

At just five weeks pregnant, I’d started bleeding.

Please hang in there, little one, I silently begged.

It was September 2015, and I held my breath, waiting for bad news as the sonographer scanned my tummy. 

Then… ‘I can see two amniotic sacs,’ she said. ‘As it’s so early, they’re empty, but there’s a high chance you’re having twins.’

‘Wow,’ I whispered, shocked but happy.

You see, after having my little boy Leelan, then 18 months, I’d suffered three miscarriages.

So the prospect of having two babies at once seemed like a dream come true. 

Back home, I told my boyfriend the news. 

‘That’s amazing,’ he grinned. 

Only, at another scan a week later, things had changed.

‘One baby’s developing, but the other sac is still empty,’ the sonographer said. ‘We call it a missed miscarriage.’

Though disappointed, I was grateful the remaining twin was healthy.

But, eight weekson, I was given shocking news.

‘The other twin’s developing after all,’ the sonographer said. ‘Maybe this baby’s developing slower. I can’t see a heartbeat, but we might be able to at a later stage.’

Stunned, I was on tenterhooks waiting for my next scan.