Newborns beat odds to survive

Kyan (L) and Axel were born with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. Photo / Janna Dixon

A pint-sized namesake of rocker Axl Rose and his identical twin brother have fought the odds and survived.

Newborns Axel and Kyan Crossley-Coe suffer from a rare syndrome that affects just 5 to 10 per cent of identical twins. About one in 250 pregnancies results in identical twins.

Called twin-to-twin transfusion, one twin thrives while the other is deprived of nutrition and blood through the shared placenta while in the womb.

When teenage mum Kayla Crossley-Coe was pregnant, doctors warned that without intervention there was a serious risk she would lose one or both the babies.

The Kerikeri mother made the difficult decision to "let nature take its course".

"I knew what I wanted to do. I didn't feel right about deciding someone else's life."

When "donor" twin Axel was born, he weighed little more than 0.5kg - a third of his brother's size. Kayla knows how close she was to a different outcome. "It was likely that Axel wouldn't have made it another week. I'm very lucky."

Middlemore Hospital neonatal paediatrician Mike Meyer said the twins had beaten the odds and "done really well".

If carried to full term, the mortality rate of twins with the syndrome is 30-40 per cent because of increasing complications. The donor twin becomes anaemic, which can lead to heart failure, and the recipient is at risk of high blood pressure.

The syndrome affects only identical twins and is caused by the way the placenta is shared and the type of connecting vessels.

"You end up with a donor who will be giving blood to his twin. Axel would have had much less blood than his brother," said Meyer.

Kayla only learnt she was pregnant at 21 weeks, when she visited the doctor because of ongoing sickness.

She was shocked when a scan showed she was carrying twins - and one was much smaller than the other: "It was scary."

Nine weeks before her due date, Kayla had an emergency Caesarean because of growing health risks to the twins.

They were born on December 6; Kyan first. Since then they have been cared for at Middlemore's Kidzfirst neonatal unit. Axel, named after the singer in one of Kayla's favourite bands, Guns N'Roses, needs help with breathing, is anaemic and has had three blood transfusions.

Both babies have respiratory problems.

The Lion Foundation is the main sponsor of the neonatal unit and has contributed more than $1.6 million towards the care for babies.

The twins are making progress and, at almost 1.4kg, Axel is catching up on his brother's 2.4kg.

"I just want to get Axel healthy and I want them to be happy," said Kayla.