'My twins are miracles - help more survive'

A mother whose sons survived a devastating syndrome affecting twins is backing pioneering research.

Jennifer Singer today described Joshua and Jacob, who celebrate their first birthday next week, as “miracles”.

The identical boys were diagnosed with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), a life-threatening condition that affects hundreds of babies a year.

Sufferers include identical twins who share a placenta. It means they share unequal amounts of blood — one gets too much and the other too little. Now the Twins and Multiple Births Association (Tamba) has launched a fundraising appeal to develop the first UK registry documenting cases.

It aims to help develop the most effective treatments. Currently, about four in five babies affected die without treatment, and others end up disabled.

Ms Singer’s twins were diagnosed at 18 weeks and delivered six weeks early, by Caesarean, on January last year at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital. The 39-year-old architect, from Twickenham, said: “To me they are miracle babies — we had to go through a long journey to get there. The doctors had to monitor me week to week and I was extremely concerned about the twins. There’s very little information out there, which is why this registry is so important.”

Dr Asma Khalil, a consultant in fetal medicine and obstetrics at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, will lead the registry project. She said: “This will help to build a true picture of cases in the UK.

“Crucially, a national UK registry will provide a tool to assist the improvement of clinical skills and practice, and therefore help to provide better patient care and better outcomes for babies affected by TTTS.”