A mother has revealed how her premature baby defied the odds to survive after a rare condition killed his identical twin brother in the womb.
Hannah Robertson, 26, was diagnosed with twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) after she endured crippling back pain at 26 weeks pregnant.
This occurs when abnormal blood vessel connections form in the twins' shared placenta, which prevents blood from flowing evenly between the babies.
The day after she was diagnosed, a scan confirmed baby Felix's heart had stopped beating, while his twin Bowie was fighting for his life.
Miss Robertson went into labour five days later, with Felix being delivered stillborn on June 11 last year and Bowie arriving one minute later weighing 1lb 12oz. A typical loaf of bread weighs 1lb 7oz.
Bowie spent the next three months in intensive care where he battled kidney failure, pneumonia and sepsis before finally being strong enough to go home to Rosyth in Fife.
Hannah Robertson has revealed how her premature baby Bowie (pictured left and right as a newborn weighing 1lb 12oz) defied the odds to survive after a rare condition killed his identical twin brother in the womb. Miss Robertson is also pictured left with her partner Kenny Moyes
Miss Robertson discovered she was expecting twins during an early scan (pictured) on January 27. However, a later scan revealed one of the babies had died due to twin-twin transfusion syndrome, which occurs when blood does not flow evenly between the babies
Speaking of her diagnosis, Miss Robertson, who is in a relationship with 33-year-old Kenny Moyes, said: 'I went in for that scan and just knew something was wrong.
'When I looked at the screen I couldn't see anything moving. There were about ten people in the room and it went so quiet.
'Then the doctor put his hand on my leg and I heard the words I never imagined I would hear, "I am so sorry but one of your babies' hearts has stopped beating".
'Any air I had breathed in was gone and I felt like I couldn't breathe anymore. I shot up from the bed. I needed to get out the room straight away.
'I just panicked and kept thinking "this cannot be happening". They took us into a counselling room and explained to me and my mum what had happened.'
Doctors explained Felix had received too much blood, which caused him to develop hypertension and an enlarged bladder. This put a strain on his heart, causing it to stop beating.
'He was getting pumped with too much fluid and too much blood, and it was making his brain swell,' Miss Robertson said. 'His body was working too much, and he suffered heart failure and died.
'But Bowie was getting all the fluid taken away from him so he was going into kidney failure.'
Miss Robertson, who attended the scan without Mr Moyes, then had to break the devastating news to her partner over the phone.
'He was screaming and kept asking "what?",' she said. 'He just couldn't understand what was happening.'
Miss Robertson (pictured left while expecting) enjoyed a 'perfect' pregnancy until she developed crippling back pain at week 26. In the first 79 days of his life, Bowie (pictured left in intensive care) endured five blood transfusions, sepsis, pneumonia and near blindness
The newborn is pictured wearing an eye mask after laser surgery to prevent him going blind
Miss Robertson is pictured left holding Bowie for the first time when he was four days old and right with the healthy youngster, who is approaching his first birthday, at home
Miss Robertson noticed her bump (pictured left) was uneven but thought the twins were both on one side. She now knows this was because all the amniotic fluid from Bowie's side had drained to his brother Felix. She calls Bowie (pictured together right recently) her 'starman'
After discovering she was pregnant on December 28 2017, an 'impatient' Miss Robertson booked an early private scan on January 27. This revealed two heartbeats, leaving the parents-to-be thrilled that they were expecting twins.
'I remember when we found out we were having identical twins, we were given a leaflet to read about TTTS but it never sounded alarming and I didn't have any of the symptoms,' Miss Robertson said.
Apart from having a particularly large bump, which the mother-to-but put down to carrying twins, Miss Robertson enjoyed a 'perfect' pregnancy until week 26. And she underwent scans every two weeks to ensure both babies were healthy.
But things took a turn for the worse when Miss Robertson, who has a history of sciatica, developed back pain. After a few days, she called her local hospital on June 3, and was told to rest and take painkillers.
When she called again two days later, doctors told her to have a bath and fizzy drink, and ring back in an hour if things had not improved.
By this time Miss Robertson was in tears from the pain and made her way to hospital. A scan then revealed her twins had TTTS.
'When the doctor told us it looked like our twins had TTTS, I completely broke down,' she said. 'I couldn't believe this was happening.
'My pregnancy had been perfect. I never felt healthier. I looked about nine months pregnant when I was only six months but I put it down to having twins.
'One side of my bump was fuller than the other but I thought both babies were sitting on one side.' Miss Robertson now knows this was because all the amniotic fluid from Bowie's side had drained to his brother Felix.
Miss Robertson is pictured left meeting Bowie for the first time while he fought for his life. The youngster (pictured right recently) is now 'doing great' and 'meeting all his milestones'
Bowie is pictured going swimming for the first time with his father Kenny Moyes
Bowie was so tiny when he was born he could almost fit into his father's hand (pictured)
After the diagnosis, the couple told themselves everything would be fine, with the twins just requiring laser surgery to treat their TTTS. Laser surgery seals shut the abnormal blood vessels, with surgeons then draining the excess fluid.
'I was never really aware both my babies could die,' Miss Robertson said. 'Even after the diagnosis, we thought I was going to go and get the laser surgery and everything
