A mum has given birth to “miracle” twins after suffering the loss of 12 babies amid years of fertility struggles.
Carla Paterson, along with partner Stephen Dunn, welcomed identical baby boys Blane and Blair on March 18, 2021 – eight months to the day after losing her mum, Jane Paterson, to cancer.
The Hamilton, Scotland, couple had been trying frantically for a child for five years when they first became pregnant in 2016. Tragically, they had an ectopic pregnancy.
It was the beginning of years of additional suffering, with 11 miscarriages prompting Carla to undergo a variety of operations and testing in an effort to determine why her pregnancies were failing.
After watched her mother battle secondary breast cancer before passing away just two weeks before Carla’s pregnancy was discovered, the former recruitment manager Carla is now adamant that the boys were a gift from God.
The 30-year-old said : “In 2016 I had an ectopic pregnancy, I then went on to have 11 miscarriages over the space of five years.
“During all this I was diagnosed with an over-active thyroid which they thought could be causing the miscarriages, so I had an operation in 2018 to remove my full thyroid.
“But after the procedure I still continued to miscarry.
“So, I got in touch with the charity Tommy’s, which helps women who suffer from infertility.
“In 2019, I traveled to the All Women’s hospital where I underwent a variety of tests, all of which came out normal. They had offered to pay for me to have the testing performed there, so it was incredibly frustrating.
“I was then referred to a gynaecologist at Wishaw General and she forwarded me to the infertility clinic at Monklands where myself and Stephen attended for a number of tests, which again all came back normal.
“I then had tests to look for endometriosis, to look at my fallopian tubes, and to look at my uterus on March 11, 2020, the day before we went into lockdown. Once again, everything was normal. Everything was then attributed to unexplained infertility.”
Carla was offered the chance to be put on the IVF waiting list.
Her mum was still fighting secondary breast cancer and the family had been told the disease was terminal.
Carla continued: “We found out that mum’s cancer wasn’t curable, but it was treatable.
“She was the strongest lady I have ever met, but sadly she lost her battle on July 18, 2020. The strangest thing though was that three days before she passed, she told me I was pregnant and asked when I was due.
“We had absolutely no idea and I suppose just brushed it off.
“Two weeks after my mum’s funeral, I found out I was pregnant naturally, no IVF needed, with our identical twins.
“I genuinely think my mother sent me these marvels. Nevertheless, Blane was delivered at 9.58 a.m. on March 18 weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces, and Blair was born at 10 a.m. weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounce.”
Carla and Stephen are presently organizing their wedding while enjoying life at home with their miracle babies.
