A couple whose 16-week old twins were diagnosed with the same Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) as the Little Mix singer’s newborn girls reveal they were faced with the same stark life and death decision
A mum who was tragically given the option to terminate her pregnancy after her twins were diagnosed with the same life-threatening condition as Jesy Nelson’s newborn girls has sent her heartfelt congratulations – and says she knows how the Little Mix singer must have felt giving birth.
“It’s fantastic news that Jesy has delivered two healthy babies,” says Victoria and her partner Darren Burgess, as they send their congratulations to Jesy and Zion Foster on the birth of 31-week-old Ocean Jade Nelson-Foster and Story Monroe Nelson-Foster.
And admits, “I know exactly how worried she would have been about giving birth because an ultrasound revealed our 16-week-old twins had Twin-To-Twin Syndrome (TTTS) – the same condition Jesy and Zion’s babies were diagnosed with when she was seven months pregnant.”
Victoria, 35, and her partner Darren, 33, whose 19-month-old boys are now healthy and well, says, “TTTS can affect everyone differently – I didn’t have to stay in hospital for 10 weeks like Jesy, but I did have to have lots of rest, as close to bed-bound as possible, to protect the babies.
“And I had lots of MRI scans while pregnant on my babies’ brains – like Jesy will have done too – to see if there were any development problems, but they were fine. And on the day of my c-section at the Musgrove Hospital in Taunton, I really worried about their health and thought, ‘Have I done everything I can? Did I make the right choice? Is this the best thing for the babies?”
The couple were overjoyed to be expecting when they attended their 12-week scan, but they were in for a shock. Darren had jokingly suggested they might be having twins, but Victoria was convinced otherwise.
“It wasn’t in my mind that it could be twins, not at all. I just thought I knew my own body,” Victoria said. “We don’t have any twins in our families, so I didn’t even think it would be an option.”
But sure enough, as the sonographer examined the screen, she announced the unexpected news: they were expecting two babies. “I saw the sonographer look quite quickly over the whole area. I thought I saw a second embryo,” Darren recalled. “The measurements were all done for one baby, and then the sonographer said, ‘here’s baby number two’. Victoria’s jaw hit the floor.”
However, their joy quickly turned to worry when a 16-week scan revealed something alarming – one twin had no visible kidneys or bladder, and the other had excessive fluid in their sac. Doctors diagnosed the pregnancy with Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), a rare but life-threatening condition that affects around 10 to 15 percent of identical twins who share a placenta.
The couple, from Bristol, were given three options: undergo specialist laser surgery, do nothing and risk complications, or terminate the pregnancy. “Having a termination was never in our heads,” Darren said. “We chose to have laser surgery, like Jesy, which is to basically remove the bad plumbing of the placenta where nutrients were being taken from one baby to another.”
Victoria turned to the Twins Trust website for support and information, finding solace in reading the experiences of other families who had faced TTTS. “At that point, I hadn’t heard of TTTS,” she admitted. “That’s when the Twins Trust website was really helpful – I felt very lonely and confused, and reading about other people’s experiences helped.”
A week after the diagnosis, Victoria underwent laser surgery to save her babies. “We knew it could rapidly escalate, and they were worried about one of the twins,” she said. “The other twin’s sac was getting bigger and bigger.”
The procedure was a success, but Victoria endured weeks of complications, including fluid loss and multiple hospital visits. At 33 weeks, further bleeding signalled that the twins were on their way.
Born via C-section in September 2023, Ezra and Arlo entered the world at 34 weeks and one day, in a theatre packed with 26 medical staff. In a dramatic twist, a student trainee fainted during the birth.
“Ezra and Arlo were born weighing 4lb 2oz and 4lb 7oz,” says Darren. “Arlo was breathing on his own while Ezra needed a kickstart, but after a couple of days, they were OK.”
Despite spending weeks in NICU and intensive care, the twins fought through their early challenges, including surgery for hernias, and are now thriving. Victoria, who praised the staff at Musgrove Hospital in Taunton, said she’s determined not to let the challenges of having twins hold her back.
“While the boys were kept in special care I had time to recover myself. They are now 19 months old and their development has been normal so there’s no reason why TTTS should affect them in future.
“However it’s been pretty intense for us since they were born, and we’ve had the added worry that Darren was diagnosed with a Grade 2 brain tumour, which has now been removed.
“We struggled with sleeping at first as being twins they wake each other up. Breast feeding every three or four hours was hard work and for the first month we all slept together in the sitting room as it was too awkward to get upstairs. And I’m not going to lie, they’re still sleeping in our bedroom!
“I enjoy taking the boys to clubs and don’t let the fact I have twins stop me from doing anything,” she said. “Looking back on the TTTS, I think it’s important to have honest conversations. I had never heard of the syndrome before, so I tried to educate myself. I was never pushed into any decisions—the hospital staff were very open-minded and gave us time.”
Darren advised other parents facing similar diagnoses to always ask questions and hold on to hope. “We just kept on hoping,” he said. “We hung onto that hope and had positive outcomes.”
The couple, who also completed the Twins Trust antenatal course to help prepare for their journey, are now focused on raising awareness of TTTS to help other families. And they send their best wishes to the happy new parents, Jesy and Zion, and offer advice on how to cope with the added strain of twins.
“We’d like to send Jesy and Zion our congratulations and tell them to accept all the help they’re offered, embrace parenting as best they can – even when times get hard – and take regular breaks.
“Our boys are lovely and we hope in future being twins they will keep each other entertained and look after each other. We’re very lucky to have them.”
“We also want to say thank you to Twins Trust for being there for us when we really needed the support,” Victoria said. “It was quite a lonely and worrying time.”
For support and more information, visit www.twinstrust.org
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