Couple brings home 'extremely rare' twins born two months premature

Twins who were considered "extremely rare," sharing one placenta and amniotic sac, survived birth at 32 weeks and have now gone home from the hospital to be with their family.

Key Takeaways:

New Jersey mom Shedeline Pierre Louis successfully delivered twins at 32 weeks after a high-risk Monochorionic-Monoamniotic (MoMo) pregnancy.
In a MoMo pregnancy, the twins share a placenta and amniotic sac, which can pose some risks.
These particular twins were discharged from the NICU on July 23 after a two-month stay.

The Details:

New Jersey mom Shedeline Pierre Louis delivered her baby girls early at 32 weeks after a high risk and extremely rare Monochorionic-Monoamniotic (MoMo) pregnancy, in which the twins shared a placenta and amniotic sac.

Thanks to the care she received at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, babies Shednhee and Claydee were successfully delivered on May 26. Remarkably, the girls were delivered embracing each other within their amniotic sac.

Never miss the latest news in the fight for life.

“I’m going to make sure so they can stay together because they come in the world together,” Pierre Louis told People.

Though Pierre Louis and her husband, Evens Claude Bontant, were "shocked" and "scared" after discovering they were expecting MoMo twins, Pierre Louis' faith was evident throughout the process.

"When they told me I was going to have MoMo twins, I was scared," she admitted. "So I prayed, I fast[ed], and then I knew that everything was going to be fine."

She also credited her medical team with keeping her calm and telling her there was nothing to fear.

“So I believe them,” she said. “I put God first and then the doctors.”

Zoom In:

Dr. Alexander Juusula, who led the medical team in delivering the babies, explained why a MoMo pregnancy can create challenges.

"MoMo twins, both of them are inside one sack, and they share one placenta. This increases risks of very unique things to MoMo twins," he explained. "The cords are in the same sack, so they can wrap around each other, and then as the babies grow, this could potentially cut off blood supply to either one or both of the babies, leading to fetal death of either one or both babies."

Thumbnail for Newark Beth Israel’s Dr. Alexander Juusela on Rare Monochorionic-Monoamniotic (MoMo) twins

The condition is very rare, occurring in one in every 10,000 pregnancies.

In Pierre Louis’ case, the babies' cords did become tangled, and doctors noted that one of the girls was notably smaller than the other, prompting the c-section delivery at 32 weeks.

The Bottom Line:

After two months in the hospital, the babies were discharged on July 23 with a special send-off from cheering medical staff.

“Seeing my babies healthy and finally being able to bring them home is more than I could have hoped for,” Pierre Louis said.

Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.

Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.

Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.

Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!