A bride has spoken of her joy after her “miracle” babies were able to be bridesmaids for the Christmas wedding she had dreamed of.
Natalie Whitefox walked down the aisle with little 16-month-olds Heidi and Halle by her side, just months after giving birth to the twins doctors said would be impossible when both her fallopian tubes were removed.
Against all the odds, the girls survived and alongside their big brother, Harry, were there to watch as Natalie and husband, Ros, exchanged vows just before Christmas.
Natalie said: “The day was absolutely perfect and I still have to pinch myself that it really happened.
“For such a long time I never thought I would have any more children, so to have the girls by my side on one of the happiest days of my life was beyond all my dreams.”
In January 2013, Natalie was told she was suffering an ectopic pregnancy and needed a major operation to remove her final fallopian tube and what she thought was a single seven-week foetus.
The 27-year-old hairdresser had already had her other tube removed after two previous ectopic pregnancies, and four miscarriages and believed all her chances of having any more children had been cruelly snatched away.
But just 24 hours after the operation to save Natalie’s life, doctors detected a tiny heartbeat.
Miraculously, just before the surgery, the tiny embryo had travelled through to her womb. And it wasn’t just one baby – Natalie was pregnant with twins.
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Little angels: Natalie with her twin girls
She said: “I was stunned. It was the best news. We had gone from believing we had lost our baby to discovering we were having twins. We had no idea how but somehow our babies had survived. I just sobbed and sobbed but this time they were tears of happiness.”
Natalie, from Hunsworth, West Yorkshire, was just 18 when she was diagnosed with endometriosis, which affects the lining of the womb.
She feared she would never be able to carry a baby to term so was overjoyed when she gave birth to son, Harry, now five, in October 2010.
Natalie needed further operations but she and partner Ros Whitehead, 30 , a data analyst, would not give up hope.
But over the next two years Natalie suffered two heartbreaking ectopic pregnancies, losing both babies, and resulting in her first fallopian tube being removed.
Determined not to give up, Natalie and Ros went to see a fertility specialist in December 2012, who carried out tests to see if they were eligible for IVF on the NHS.
But a month later, Natalie suspected she might be pregnant, and a test revealed her greatest wish had come true.
Read more: Miracle baby who was so small her dad’s wedding ring fit on her wrist celebrates first Christmas
A few days later, Natalie was sent for a scan. The sonographer couldn’t find the baby and the next day, Natalie was admitted to St James Hospital in Leeds after suffering severe stomach pains.
Scans showed the pregnancy was ectopic and she needed more surgery to have her second fallopian tube removed.
Natalie says: “I just felt like my world had fallen apart. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and never open my eyes again. But 24 hours later blood tests revealed that despite the fact that my last fallopian tube had been taken away, I was still pregnant. Somehow the embryo had travelled through into the womb.”
But despite being told there was a strong chance Natalie could miscarry, she went on to have Heidi and Halle in August 2013, by a planned Caesarean section. Heidi came first, at 4lb 7oz, and Halle soon after, weighting 5lb 0.5oz.
Natalie, whose wedding was held at a West Yorkshire country hotel, said: “We have been through an emotional roller coaster over the last few years, and never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have two beautiful little girls as bridesmaids.
“The day was absolutely perfect. We couldn’t have been happier. It felt like all our Christmas’s had come at once. We feel so blessed to have three beautiful children and it meant to much that they were there to help celebrate our very special day.”
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