Meet the ‘one in 10,000’ twins who were born holding hands and are still inseparable two years later
The girls were monoamniotic, meaning they shared the same amniotic sac and faced a 50 per cent survival rate
IDENTICAL twin girls who held hands seconds after their odd-defying birth are still inseparable today.
Sarah Thistlethwaite's daughters Jenna and Jillian were monoamniotic, meaning they shared the same amniotic sac - a condition that occurs in around one in 10,000 pregnancies.
This meant their odds of survival were 50 per cent - but after Sarah spent 57 days on bed rest in a desperate attempt to minimise the risks, the two girls were born healthy within 45 seconds of each other.
As doctors held them up for mum to see, the pair stunned the delivery room when they clasped hands.
And they're as close now as they were when they first entered the world on 9 May, 2014, in Akron, Ohio - two days before Mother's Day.
Speaking about the magical moment, Sarah, 35, told : "My heart just melted. Even my husband got tears in his eyes – I don’t know that anybody in the room had a dry eye."
She explained the twins find it difficult to be apart from each other now as their bond is so strong.
Sarah said: "Sometimes if my husband (Bill) goes to the store, he'll take one twin and I'll keep the other.
"When that happens, they both get really upset and ask for each other. They're definitely really close. They're like two peas in a pod."
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Doctors first identified the monoamniotic pregnancy at 19 weeks during Sarah's third ultrasound.
She and Bill, who already had a one-year-old son named Jaxon, were informed they were having identical twins but were warned their rare condition carried severe risks.
Dr. Mancuso, director of the fetal treatment center at , where the twins were born, explained: "Because they're sharing the same amniotic sac, their umbilical cords can become tangled as they're growing and moving which can cut off blood supply to one or both twins."
Up to 24 weeks, the babies faced a 50 per cent chance of survival.
To boost their hopes, Sarah left her job as a maths teacher and was admitted to Akron's Children's Hospital where the babies could be monitored - and Bill, a clinical director, visited her every day after work.
Doctors told the couple they could deliver the twins at 32 or 34 weeks of gestation and Sarah and Bill decided on 33.
After 57 days of bed rest Sarah had a Cesarean section to deliver the twins, who both weighed almost five pounds.
Shortly afterwards, one miracle was followed by another.
Hospital spokeswoman Amy Kilgore, who was present at the birth, told : "Once they made sure they were OK, they held them up so mum and dad could see.
"As soon as they were side by side, they held hands. It gave me chills."
Bill admitted: "When they held them up and I saw their hands together... It's indescribable, really."
The sisters remained inseparable, always sitting together at meal times and reaching for each other.
Now aged two they both have distinctive personalities but will take care of each other if one is sad.
Sarah told People: "If one twin is crying, the other will try to find a way to comfort her, like going to find a pacifier or rubbing the other's back or offering a hug."
She added they have become cheekier and use their identical looks to their advantage.
Sarah added: "If Jenna does something bad, I'll ask her about it and she'll say, 'No, Jillian did it!'
"But they look so much alike that sometimes I really can't tell which one of them is in trouble."