Incredible facts
Twins Amy and Katie from Waterford, Ireland, were born 87 days apart, claiming the Guinness record for the longest interval between twins.
Their mother Maria Jones-Elliott gave birth to Amy's first twin 4 months ahead of schedule, while the second Katy was born three months after Amy.
Doctors believe that giving birth to healthy twins with such a big difference is like winning the lottery.
The birth of twins
For the mother herself, this was one of the most difficult periods in her life. Amy's first girl was born at week 24, after her mother's water ran out prematurely.
The chances of both twins surviving were very low. However, after Amy was born, Maria's contractions stopped, and attempts to induce childbirth did not lead to anything. After that, parents and doctors decided not to interfere in the course of events.
“When a woman begins to give birth to twins, the uterus contracts and babies are born one after another within an hour. But Maria's fights stopped and Katie (the second girl) stayed inside, “the doctors explained.
While the first girl was in the incubator for premature babies, Maria waited every day for her second twin to be born.
After all, the birth was caused at a relatively safe time of 36 weeks and 3 days of pregnancy. A girl weighing 2.5 kg, named Katy, was born.
“The nurse took Katy and placed her in the incubator facing her sister and Amy smiled right away. There was no doubt that they recognized each other,” says my mother.
After Maria's husband Chris went to register the twins, it caused some confusion. The birth certificate says that Amy Elliot, the first twin, was born on June 1, and Katie Eliot, the second twin, was born on August 27. The couple already have two older children, Olivia, 13 and Jack, 11.
A representative of the Guinness Book of Records said that after confirmation, the birth of twins 87 days apart will break the current 84-day record held by Peggy Lynn from the state Pennsylvania in the USA.
The birth of twins: records
– Peggy Lynn from Pennsylvania gave birth to a daughter, Hana, on November 11, 1995, while her brother Eric was born on February 2, 1996, with the biggest age difference between the twins at 84 days.
– The test-tube twins Bailey and Megan Orrells were born 4 years apart. They were conceived using their mother Jane's last batch of eggs. The eggs were fertilized through IVF (in vitro fertilization) and then frozen. The first child was born in 2006 and the second in 2010 with the help of a surrogate mother.
– The wife of a Russian peasant, Fedor Vasilyeva, who lived in the 17th century, set a record for the number of children born to one mother. She gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, 7 triplets, and 4 quadruples between 1725 and 1765. She had 69 children in total.
– Nadia Suleiman from the United States, known as “Octomama” and who gave birth to eight twins, holds the world record for the largest number of children who survived childbirth.