A woman from Nottingham has given birth to the UK's most premature twins who were given a zero percent chance of survival by doctors.
Harley and Harry Crane, born as big as a king-sized Mars bar, were delivered at 22 weeks and five days - more than a week before the abortion limit.
Proud mum Jade Crane, 39, gave birth to the pair at Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) after conceiving through IVF following 11 years of treatment.
Babies born at 22 weeks are not classed as legally viable and medical intervention is sometimes not offered.
But the siblings, who are thought to be the most premature twins to ever be born in the UK, have amazed doctors who initially gave them a zero percent chance of survival.
Jade has spent the last 13 weeks staying by her brave babies' sides in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) at QMC.
The former mental health nurse and addiction counsellor, who lives in Heanor with her husband Steve, 52, described her babies as “little fighters”.
"They're doing all the things that we were told they wouldn't do - they're crying, they're surviving,” she said.
"The doctors are amazed, they're really rooting for us now. There's not one surgeon in the hospital who hasn't heard about our twins."
Since 2010, Jade has had eight cycles of IVF and several implantations of frozen embryos as well.
After three miscarriages she discovered that she had an overactive immune system whereby her body would reject the pregnancies.
The couple moved from a fertility clinic in Nottingham to one on Harley Street in London - believed to be one of the best in the world - where Jade was prescribed medication in order to combat her immune system problems.
"Steve and I have been together for 14 years, and 11 of those have been spent doing IVF,” explained Jade, who fell pregnant with the girl and boy twins on her eighth cycle.
"I couldn't let myself believe it, I was so fearful of a miscarriage or something going wrong. I literally didn't do anything during the pregnancy as a result.
"I was still in disbelief when we got to 20 weeks, and I hadn't even hit my third trimester when I went into labour so we hadn't bought anything!
"The few bits of clothes that I did buy made me think that I better keep the tags on just in case - you just don't want to let yourself believe."
Jade took herself to get checked at QMC on October 26 after leaking fluid at home for several days at 22 weeks pregnant.
An internal examination revealed that Jade was experiencing a premature rupture of membranes, whereby the foetal membranes rupture before the onset of labour.
With Jade only being 22 weeks pregnant, her babies were not considered to be viable and the mum believed she would lose her precious twins.
"The doctor kept saying it was a miscarriage but I said it couldn't be because I could feel the babies moving. I knew they were ok but was being told they wouldn't survive at this gestation."
Doctors are not required to medically intervene with babies born prior to 24 weeks gestation as they are not considered to be viable.
Luckily for Jade, QMC is a teaching hospital and doctors intervene with babies born 23 weeks and later in an effort to learn more about premature births.
At the time of going into labour, on October 26, 2021, Jade was still 30 hours away from the 23-week mark, but doctors chose to intervene after her babies showed signs of life when born.
"Labour happened really quickly,” recalled Jade.
“I was denied pain medication and monitoring during labour as I wasn't viable, which was awful, really.
"It was only because the babies were born with signs of life that they chose to intervene medically. They were alive, moving around, and they cried. Their little cries sounded like a tiny kitten.
"I remember saying that I couldn't hear Harley cry and one of the nurses said I wouldn't because she was far too early but then I heard this little cry.
"Harry did the same when he was born an hour later, still in his sac. In Japan, it is seen as being lucky if you have a baby born in their sac, so I held on to that luck!"
Little Harley and Harry were intubated and taken to the NICU where they remained on ventilators as doctors worked hard to save the premature babies.
The twins have lots of health problems as a result of their premature birth, including chronic lung disease, and have undergone many surgeries in their little lives to combat them.
Harley now has a stoma bag fitted and Harry recently received injections in his eyes to help prevent premature blindness.
Devastatingly, the twins were also diagnosed with a serious gastrointestinal problem called necrotizing enterocolitis.
This can be fatal, and Jade was told to prepare to say goodbye.
Jade said: "We were told to get the family in and have a christening. I kept referring to the christening as 'the funeral'. It was just awful."
Thankfully, the twins have defied the odds and are now thriving in the NICU after their shock arrival 12 weeks ago.
Jade and Steve are now preparing to bring their babies home with the hope they'll be able to leave the hospital near the original due date - February 24.
"They'll go down in medical history - I'm pretty sure they'll be having on of the wards named after them because everyone is just amazed by them!"
Matron Cheryl Griffiths and consultant Chantelle Tomlinson told the Mirror: “We are delighted to have been able to provide neonatal intensive care for Harley and Harry and to support them and their parents, Jade and Steve, in their journey.”
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