The two babies, weighing 1.2 kg and 1.1 kg respectively, were resuscitated after birth by the medical team at Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. They were stabilized using specialized thermal bags and provided with non-invasive respiratory support. Once their breathing stabilized and their skin turned pink, the doctors transferred them to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to be nurtured in incubators.

Doctor Le Thi Ngoc Dung from the NICU said both babies received a 7-day course of antibiotics. Initially, both were given non-invasive ventilation support. The larger twin responded well, breathing with positive pressure and low oxygen concentration. The second twin, however, had weaker breathing and received surfactant to help expand her lungs and improve gas exchange.

Regarding nutrition, initially, both babies were partially fed through a nasogastric tube, supplemented with intravenous nutrition. The milk volume was gradually increased until both babies were fully fed through the digestive tract. Alongside respiratory and nutritional support, the older twin also received a blood transfusion to improve her anemia due to premature birth.

The mother was allowed into the NICU for early skin-to-skin contact with her babies to reduce stress, stabilize their heart rate and breathing, decrease the risk of mortality, and support growth. After 1.5 months, the older twin weighed 2.2 kg, while her sister weighed 2.5 kg. Doctor Dung stated that the older twin's weight hadn't reached the standard, but her other health indicators were stable. The twins were breathing independently, feeding well, and were discharged with follow-up appointments scheduled.

Doctor Dung checks the health of a premature baby before discharge. Photo illustration: Ngoc Chau

Premature birth is defined as birth before 37 weeks. Babies born between 28 and 32 weeks are considered very premature and face numerous health risks, including hypothermia, respiratory distress, metabolic disorders, neonatal infections, jaundice, anemia, brain hemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis, and hearing and vision problems.

According to Doctor Dung, twin pregnancies are associated with a perinatal mortality rate three times higher than singleton pregnancies. Premature birth is the primary cause, with 50% of twin pregnancies resulting in births before 37 weeks and 10% before 32 weeks. The success rate of IVF doesn't depend on the number of embryos transferred but on the quality of the embryos and the mother's health.

According to Doctor Chau Hoang Phuong Thao, Deputy Director of the Fertility Center at Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, there is currently no effective way to prevent premature birth in the case of twin or triplet pregnancies. Therefore, to minimize this risk, women should only have one embryo transferred into the uterus. Modern assisted reproductive technologies enable couples struggling with infertility to have multiple healthy embryos, increasing the chances of pregnancy and giving birth to healthy babies even with a single embryo transfer. Besides the risks for the babies, twin pregnancies can also affect the mother's health, potentially leading to miscarriage, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and postpartum hemorrhage.

Ngoc Chau