Twins born at 23 weeks start school

Twin babies born at 23 weeks are now happy and healthy after being given a one-in-four chance of survival.

Alice Smith and Jim Clack were less than a year into marriage when they found they were expecting twins. When they went to Homerton hospital in East London to attend a routine checkup, the babies arrived early.

Bodhi was born first, followed by his sister Peggy twenty minutes later, each small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. They were admitted to the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where they stayed for four months before being discharged.

Starting school

Mum Alice shared: “You have these horrible, horrible thoughts – and you’re like, ‘These are my babies that I’m supposed to love, but I’m scared’”.

Dad Jim described how he spent the night the babies were born reading up on preterm births, and all the things that can go wrong. In the morning he told his wife “Don’t Google anything” before their meeting with the doctors.

Baby Peggy suffered a brain bleed during her first few months, which can lead to later health complications. However, she and her brother Bodhi started school this September with no signs of lasting damage.

Survival rate tripled

The UK has one of the lowest thresholds for medical viability of unborn babies in the world.

Since NHS policy was changed in 2019 to give survival-focused care for babies born at 23 weeks, the rate of survival has significantly increased. For babies born at 22 weeks, the survival rate has tripled.

However, in Great Britain, abortion is currently permitted for most reasons up to 24 weeks, and up to birth if the unborn child is deemed to have a disability.