Edinburgh mum talks of the 'painful' moment her twins born with a rare condition were separated from her at birth due to Covid-19 risk

The twins were born more than two months early weighing about 3lbs each.

A young mother has spoken of the heartbreaking moment her premature identical twin girls born with a rare condition had to be taken from her at birth due to the risks surrounding Covid-19.

Caitlin Amos, from Leith, gave birth to Maya and Amelia in the midst of lockdown on April 21, almost two and a half months before their due date in July.

The newborns, weighing just around 3lbs, had to be delivered by emergency cesarean after doctors found they had developed twin-twin transfusion syndrome, a rare and serious condition where the babies share a placenta and blood is unevenly distributed between them.

Amelia (left) and Maya (right) just a few days after they were born and Caitlin pictured on the right when she was allowed to hold her twins

The new mother, who has since only been able to visit her babies in hospital for a few hours at a time due to the high risk of infection, has shared her experience of what it has been like having a complicated birth during a global pandemic.

“It has been one of the hardest experiences I have had to go through, it’s been very emotional,” Caitlin said.

“The twins were taken from me straight away, I wasn’t able to even hold them or look at them.

“Not being able to see their faces was painful, but one of the most difficult parts of this whole experience is being so restricted on when I can hold them because I just want to do that all the time.”

From the minute she could get up and walk, five hours after her operation, Caitlin was allowed to look at her babies in ICU from a distance for the first time.

“It was a shock seeing them because they were so small and looked so fragile, it made me so worried, seeing their tiny hands,” she said.

“Amelia had to have a blood transfusion because she was anaemic, Maya was very red and they were both connected to various machines.

“I had to stay in hospital for a week to recover, but during that time I was only allowed to visit them for one hour a day which was really tough.”

Fortunately Caitlin had her partner, Alan Selkirk, with her during the traumatic birth.

In between trips to see the twins he has been looking after the couple’s first baby, Ava, who turned one this week.

While Caitlin was in hospital recovering, Alan, who works as an essential worker at Tesco’s, was able to visit her and the twins for one hour a day.

Now, at six weeks old and weighing about 5lbs each, Maya and Amelia are getting stronger each day and the young couple can spend up to a couple of hours with their little ones every day until they are well enough to be discharged.

Being one of six children with three sisters and two brothers, Caitlin is eager to bring her little girls home to meet the family, who are all waiting impatiently until it’s safe enough to do so.

“We still haven’t been given a set date for when they come home,” the young mum said.

“It’s hard because it’s just a waiting game, everyone is so desperate to meet them.

“It’s such a strange time with no one being able to see them. I have had identical twins and no one has met them yet.

“I am just looking forward to the day when we can all be together.”

Caitlin’s first pregnancy with Ava was full-term with a natural birth.

She said having the twins has been a lot more traumatic because of their condition but also due to the ongoing coronavirus restrictions and the added fear of infection.

“A lot of antenatal classes were cancelled and not being able to have family come into the hospital at that time when Maya and Amelia were attached to machines and looking so weak was really hard, it was an incredibly emotional few weeks.

“Luckily Alan was able to come in occasionally and I can’t fault the staff, they were really supportive.”

Caitlin’s mother Angela Finlayson, who works for the NHS, has been sat patiently waiting for the day she is allowed to meet her twin granddaughters for the first time.

Eager to see them, she has had several video calls with Caitlin in the meantime to get a glimpse of the girls.

Angela said: “I know they need to be protected as much as possible given the condition they were born in and with the risk of Covid-19 but we are all just dying to meet them,” she said, emotion in her voice.

“Caitlin is one of six, we are a big family and all want to be together when these times are hard.

“When you’re a mother you just want to see your baby all the time, so it’s especially hard for her.”

Like thousands of new mothers across the country, Cailtin’s experience of giving birth has been been challenging during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The birth partner is only allowed to be present during the birth, but visits to the hospital beforehand and after the baby is born are not permitted.

On the NHS website it says: “Following birth, your baby and you will be moved to a ward and your partner will not be able to visit you.

“Whilst we understand this is very difficult, it's essential that we limit the number of visitors to hospitals during this time to protect other pregnant women, their babies, and staff.”

In Caitlin’s case, with her twins requiring ongoing treatment and having to remain in hospital, she said restricted visits of up to two hours a day are allowed for parents only.