Malik and Muna’s Story
World Prematurity Day
Ickle Pickles’ supporters Himn and Ellis Azadin shared their twin’s unique story to help spread awareness during this November's World Prematurity Month and to support Ickle Pickles’ World Prematurity Day celebrations on the 17th of November.
Himn and Ellis found out on their wedding day in March 2024 that they were expecting a twin boy and a girl.
“We were overjoyed to expect one of each. What more could we ask for? We were in a blissful bubble. At our 20-week scan, all was normal and the twins’ growth was good.
But everything very quickly changed and our bubble burst less than a month after our wedding.
On the 23rd of April, I walked into our local maternity triage for a check as I felt something was not quite right.
Our world quickly crumbled as we were told my waters had broken with one of the twins. This is called PPROM (preterm premature rupture of membranes). I was 2cm dilated and had a bulging membrane.
The doctor told us that our twins had no chance of survival. Viability is 24 weeks gestation and I was only 22 weeks + 2 days. I was put in a bereavement ward, where shockingly I could read my notes on my app and the midwife had written that she sent “condolences” But I was still pregnant.
It was the longest night watching and waiting to see if I would go into active labour. We made it through the night and another scan showed both twins were in normal volume of fluids.
We were given the opportunity to transfer out to a NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) in Portsmouth. Luckily, we got blue-lighted out to a NICU able to take babies less than 28 weeks and held onto hope.
We had hard conversations about our wishes but we without question asked to do whatever we could to try to keep our twins alive, in the hope that we could reach at least 24 weeks.
We thank god that I held on for 17 more days and gave birth at 24 weeks and 5 days gestation, just at the cusp of “viability”.
Our little boy weighed only 670g and our little lady 700g.
Now they survived their very premature birth, our long 117-day neonatal journey began. It is a journey too long to write about in detail. But we thank god every day that our twins fought.
Both our Twins were admitted to Portsmouth Hospital’s NICU until the 25th of July which was exactly three months and 1 day from when I got admitted. They then got repatriated back to Poole Hospital, closer to home, for another month.
We had incredible doctors and nurses looking after them.
Our first Father’s Day was in the NICU. We received kind gifts from Ickle Pickles that day and the Father’s Day key ring hangs on my husband's car keys. Despite the difficult time, it is our favourite memory and one we will never forget.
We are now home and both twins are thriving. The home still feels partially like a hospital, as they are on oxygen which can be challenging.
But none of that matters as every day is a blessing! Every day at home is a day we once dreamed of.
My advice for other parents going through the neonatal journey would be that the NICU journey may seem like a dark and unknown time. But try to find the stars in each day.
“Only in darkness, you can see the stars”
Each doctor or nurse is a star on your journey and every day that dawns is a new day, one of hope and opportunity and one step closer in your baby’s journey. Have faith that your baby(s) are warriors and have trust in every doctor and nurse.
Ickle Pickles was a part of our journey and we are so grateful for every person involved in the care of our twins.”
Since 2009, the Ickle Pickles have raised over £3 million for intensive care equipment, but there is a lot to do to achieve their mission of giving every newborn a chance.
If you want to get more involved, explore 10 meaningful ways to support World Prematurity Month and email [email protected] to receive fantastic support all the way.
Let’s make a BIG difference to small babies this World Prematurity Day on the 17th of November.
