An identical twin who died at just 25 days old is being remembered across the globe.
Jess and Ashley Maddock, both 42, from Wallasey, had to say goodbye to their baby girl Cora as she died in their arms just weeks after being born at Liverpool Women's Hospital. Cora weighed just 1lb 9oz when she was born via emergency C-section on 21 December 2019, while her identical twin sister Rose weighed 3lbs 4oz.
The difference in the sisters' size was due to a condition called Selective Intrauterine Growth Restriction (sIUGR) which can occur in some identical twin pregnancies, meaning the twins share unequal portions of the same placenta. When twins have sIUGR one identical twin is normal size, while the other is significantly smaller.
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But it was weeks after birth that Cora's condition took a turn from the worse when she started struggling to breathe. She died at Alder Hey Children's Hospital on January 25, 2020, leaving behind her twin sister Rose who is now three years old.
Since her tragic death, Jess and Ashley have been keeping Cora's memory alive by sharing her story along with a children's book, which they leave in different locations for other children to find and enjoy. Anyone who finds the books accompanied with Cora's story is asked to share it on social media using the hashtag #Corasbooks, and they can then choose to donate another book to pass forward.
Jess told the ECHO: "We wanted to do something that would have a legacy for her that would never get old, that would never fade out. That's what we wanted to do with this - turn a sad thing into a positive thing."
Jess and Ashley discovered they were expecting twins in 2019 after having IVF. Jess said: "We were having scans pretty much three times a week and they picked up quite early on that the girls had a condition that was called Selective Intrauterine Growth Restriction.
"Because they shared a placenta it wasn't being shared equally, so it was restricting the growth of Cora. At one point there was a 50% different in their size.
"Our due date was 28 February 2020, but they told us they would have to be delivered before we hit 30 weeks because after that the placenta would start to deteriorate from the outside.
"We were told because they were being born 10 weeks early they would indefinitely be going into the neonatal unit. Both needed help with their breathing as you would expect being born at that gestation."
Jess said: "We were told there wasn't really any issues - obviously you're terrified when both your babies are taken to the neonatal unit. They told us they just need to feed and grow, which means really there's nothing clinically wrong with them, they just need to get bigger and then go home."
The twins were transferred from the neonatal unit at Liverpool Women's Hospital to Arrowe Park Hospital so they could be closer to their family. But on January 14, Cora began struggling to breathe and her oxygen saturation levels were low.
After carrying out some tests, doctors discovered she was suffering for a serious condition called Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) which can affect newborn babies and causes the tissue in the bowel to become inflamed.
Cora was transferred to intensive care at Alder Hey Children's Hospital for an emergency procedure to stabilise her breathing, but this sadly proved unsuccessful. She died in her mum and dad's arms on January 25, at just 25 days old.
Jess said: "The staff at Arrowe Park were absolutely amazing. They supported us so much and put us in touch with Claire House - I knew what it was but I didn't realise they would be able to support us after Cora had passed.
"Cora rested there and we were able to go and see her whenever we wanted."
Jess said: "As it got close to the anniversary we didn't know what to do. A friend suggested leaving a book somewhere for a child to find with Cora's story. I said that's a brilliant idea because Rose absolutely loves books - she's a little book worm.
"It kind of just took off and it was lovely because every day we'd do a search on the hashtag and more and more were popping up. It was lovely that people were able to share it with us. It went overseas and as far as up north in Scotland and Northern Ireland."
Jess added: "To have Cora for those 25 days was such a blessing regardless of what happened. We always say she was a little miracle.
"I think as Rose gets older we will definitely explain to her - it's not something that's going to be kept from her. We want her to know that special bond she had with Cora."
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