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12/01/2009
Woman To Give Birth To 'Rare' Conjoined Twins
A woman pregnant with conjoined twins has ignored doctor's advice to terminate the pregnancy.
Lisa Chamberlain, 25, had a scan last week which showed her embryo had two heads and one body, making them dicephalus twins.
Lisa and her fiancé Mike Pedace, 32, have been told the twins only have a 20% chance of survival. They would be the first British babies born with the rare condition that occurs in just 4% of conjoined twins worldwide.
Ms Chamberlain, from Portsmouth, is reported to be a devout Catholic who is opposed to abortion.
Speaking to the Sun newspaper, she said: "To me, my twins are a gift from God and we're determined to give them a chance of life."
The twins were diagnosed after the former RSPCA worker was taken into the city's St Mary's Hospital on Wednesday with back pain. She had fallen pregnant on December 18.
The 25-year-old also told the paper that doctors had advised that she should have a termination "mainly because it would save me heartache further down the line, but I've told them there's no way I'm going to have a termination and I want to go ahead with my pregnancy".
She added: "I believe everything happens for a reason and there was a reason why God chose me to be their mum and there's absolutely no way I would consider an abortion.
"I'm very happy and proud of my twins and they deserve every chance in life."
The couple hope the babies will follow the example of US Siamese twins Abigail and Brittany Hensel, who were born in March 1990 with shared organs below the navel and are still alive.
(JM/BMcC)
Lisa Chamberlain, 25, had a scan last week which showed her embryo had two heads and one body, making them dicephalus twins.
Lisa and her fiancé Mike Pedace, 32, have been told the twins only have a 20% chance of survival. They would be the first British babies born with the rare condition that occurs in just 4% of conjoined twins worldwide.
Ms Chamberlain, from Portsmouth, is reported to be a devout Catholic who is opposed to abortion.
Speaking to the Sun newspaper, she said: "To me, my twins are a gift from God and we're determined to give them a chance of life."
The twins were diagnosed after the former RSPCA worker was taken into the city's St Mary's Hospital on Wednesday with back pain. She had fallen pregnant on December 18.
The 25-year-old also told the paper that doctors had advised that she should have a termination "mainly because it would save me heartache further down the line, but I've told them there's no way I'm going to have a termination and I want to go ahead with my pregnancy".
She added: "I believe everything happens for a reason and there was a reason why God chose me to be their mum and there's absolutely no way I would consider an abortion.
"I'm very happy and proud of my twins and they deserve every chance in life."
The couple hope the babies will follow the example of US Siamese twins Abigail and Brittany Hensel, who were born in March 1990 with shared organs below the navel and are still alive.
(JM/BMcC)
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Surgeons at Great Ormond Street Hospital are attempting to separate conjoined twins who were born last week. The twin girls - Faith and Hope - were born last Wednesday, 26 November, and are joined from their breastbone to their naval, sharing a liver, but having separate hearts.
Operation To Separate Conjoined Twins Begins
Surgeons at Great Ormond Street Hospital are attempting to separate conjoined twins who were born last week. The twin girls - Faith and Hope - were born last Wednesday, 26 November, and are joined from their breastbone to their naval, sharing a liver, but having separate hearts.
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08 July 2003
Conjoined twins die following separation attempt
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26 March 2008
Pregnant Women Told 'Avoid Alcohol'
Women are being advised to avoid alcohol altogether during pregnancy, following a revision in guidelines provided by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
Pregnant Women Told 'Avoid Alcohol'
Women are being advised to avoid alcohol altogether during pregnancy, following a revision in guidelines provided by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
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