OFF TO big SCHOOL

After four years trying for a baby and then struggling through the roller-coaster of IVF, Carmen Abounader clutched husband Moni's hand at their gender reveal, relieved the difficult times were over.

- Emma Levett

But as pink sparkles rained down on them, signifying she was carrying twin girls, she was actually just weeks away from the most stressful experience of both their lives.

“My pregnancy was pretty regular and I didn’t have any high-risk issues, but at 25 weeks, I started feeling period-like pains,” Carmen, 34, from Sydney, tells WHO.

At Liverpool hospital to check things out, it quickly became apparent she was in early labour.

“They told me I could give birth within the next two weeks. I had nothing prepared and I knew I was still meant to have three months to go. I hadn’t even really got that big yet. I was freaking out,” she says.

Worse, the doctors warned her that at such an early date, there were no guarantees her babies would survive and, if they did, there were problems like cerebral palsy, learning difficulties and vision issues associated with prematurity.