A mum from St Blazey has spoken of her heartbreaking journey to motherhood.
After a long struggle to become a parent and having faced three miscarriages, Josie Kent and her partner Gareth Rabey were ecstatic to find out they were having identical twins earlier this year.
In order to rule out twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), a rare, serious condition that can occur in pregnancies when identical twins share a placenta, Josie had regular check-ups and scans every two weeks.
Having entered 24 weeks of pregnancy, which Josie said was usually the "safe zone" for TTTS - the mother-to-be thought she was finally out of danger.
But three weeks later, the 28-year-old had her worst nightmare confrimed.
Josie was faced with a heartbreaking decision that could have meant life or death for her unborn twins.
Josie said: "The worst news a parent could hear at their 28 week scan.
"Your twins have TTTS - it&apos;s stage 3 (out of 5) you have a stuck twin, one twin has all of the fluid and the other is now stuck unable to move, unable to grow and in a lot of trouble, if we leave them - they will die."
She was given two options - the first was to travel to Bristol Hospital and have laser treatment on her placenta in order to reduce the amount of fluid going to one twin.
Josie added: "We were told because of their gestation and how far along they were the risks for this procedure were high - we had a 40% chance of loosing one baby and a 10% chance of loosing both.
"I cried. This couldn’t be real. I need to hear the other option because there’s no way I’ve got this far to loose my babies.
"[The other option was] we deliver them. In two days. Survival rates would be much higher about 70/80% of course because of their twin to twin transfusion syndrome their could be further complications - nothing is certain but that’s our best option."
After a nightmare two days - Josie was preparing to give birth three months early.
Josie said there were 30 people waiting and ready to react during her cesarean section - life-saving workers from resuscitation, neonatal, nurses and consultants.
"They screamed when they came out. Then I didn’t see them for seven hours.
"It had never even entered my head that that could have happened.
"A lot of people take it for granted that they will have a nice pregnancy and walk out of hospital with their new baby."
Evie May Rabey was born weighing 2lbs at the exactly same time as her sister, Lily Beth Rabey, weighing 1lb 10oz, on June 22.
Josie added: "Both got taken to NICU straight away on resuscitation tables, with a team of doctors and nurses each.
"I got to kiss Lily&apos;s head and grab a brief look at her, I touched Evie&apos;s hand and watched her as they wheeled her out on the resuscitation table."
She said that they were so small that they "didn&apos;t look like babies" and that her engagement ring was the width of their feet.
Josie didn&apos;t get to hold Evie for another three days after she was born and waited over a week to finally hold Lily for five minutes.
The twins stayed in incubators for another three months after their birth until they were large enough to go home.
During the early stages Josie was staying in Derriford Hospital with her children but after a move to Royal Cornwall Hospital Treliske, she was no longer able to stay overnight.
She added: "I had a cesarean so I wasn&apos;t able to drive for six weeks. I had to rely on people to collect me and take me to Treliske.
"No one would ever pre-empt being in that situation.
"Every night coming home after that long being pregnant - I didn’t feel like I had them.
"Luckily they were around people who don&apos;t just look after babies, they keep them alive day-to-day. The babies are wired up and the alarms go off because they have stopped breathing and they all rush to their side.
"The tiniest little thing could make a massive difference and I think they are really underestimated. I can&apos;t thank the neonatal unit enough for what they&apos;ve done."
Both twins are now living at home and Lily, who was born the smaller of the two, still needs oxygen at night.
Josie started an Instagram account while the twins were in hospital, which she said acted as a therapy and also helped her to keep friends and family updated on the progress.
"Leaving hospital after 13 long weeks. When the girls were born the World Cup had just started, the sun was at its peak and summer had just started.
"Now the autumn is here and it won’t be long until Christmas. The past 13 weeks have been the hardest of our lives, emotionally and physically draining - living between a home and the hospital.
"Now we can finally enjoy being at home together as a whole family."