A Minnesota mother who gave birth to conjoined twins this past Wednesday in a Chicago hospital said she knew that only one of her daughters would live, but made the difficult decision to go through with the delivery.
Amber McCullough underwent a 5-hour surgery in order to give birth to Olivia and Hannah. Olivia was not expected to live through the surgery — she did not.
Here sister, however, survived and is now in “critical but stable condition,” ABC News reported.
The twins were joined at the abdomen. Conjoined twins happen once every 200,000 live births.
McCullough was open about her struggle to carry conjoined twins, knowing that one of the would most likely die on delivery.
During her pregnancy she posted ultrasound photos on her Facebook page. The girls “love to play,” her posts said, and “are very active.”
You can see Olivia embracing Hannah and even appears to kiss her on the cheek at times. I am enjoying every kick, every picture, every smile…. even in utero these girls flood my heart with joy.
People magazine noted that the twins shared an “abdomen, liver and intestinal tract” but that the sisters had “separate hearts and kidneys”
Olivia, the daughter who passed away, was born with only one ventricle in her heart.
A University of Maryland Medical Center report was quoted as saying that, since 1950, at least one twin survives the separation 75 percent of the time.
USA Today reported that McCullough found out that she had conjoined twins “shortly after her second trimester.”
The mom was quoted as saying that Hannah “did survive the surgery” but was “very critical and very delicate.”
She is very critical and very delicate. So what I would like is to appeal to as many people public for prayer. I believe in the power of prayer and the talent of medical professionals here.
McCullough is a U.S. Army Reserves captain and has a six-year-old son named Tristan.
