Amber McCullough is a divorced single mother to Tristan, her 6-year-old son. She has served the US Army Reserves as a captain for eight years and has helped victims of domestic violence as an attorney.
She is facing Wednesday with ambivalence as she is set to deliver her girls, Hannah and Olivia, via cesarean section at Colorado Fetal Care Center at Children's Hospital under the care of Dr. Timothy M. Crombleholme, a reputed fetal surgeon.
The twins have separate hearts and kidneys but share an abdomen, liver, and intestinal tract with three legs and are joined from mid-chest to the pelvis, a condition called thoracic-amphalo-ischiopagus-tripus conjoinment. Hannah has a good chance of survival compared with Olivia who has a weaker heart, one leg, and a Dandy Walker variant , a condition that affects brain development particularly the cerebellum (responsible for coordinates movement).
After delivering, McCullough will not be expecting to hold her twins as the doctors will immediately intubate them and start the eight- to twelve-hour operation. The girls are to undergo Ex Utero Intrapartum Treatment procedure, or EXIT, a surgical operation done while the babies are still attached to the mother's placenta. The incision will entail leaving some parts of Olivia: lower spine, attached chest, and malformed legs, to Hannah. And then to correct those, she will soon need further operation procedures. "So far we have been lucky, but when we disconnect the umbilical cord, they will have to do a lot more for themselves that Amber is doing them for now and so that is going to be the big trial. The babies would likely fall rapidly after delivery so their best hope or Hannah's best hope would likely be for starting the separation procedure while still attached to the placenta, " said Dr. Tracy Prose from University of Minnesota Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center.
Conjoined twins develop when a fertilized egg fails to completely separate into genetically identical twins. According to, conjoined twins happen once in every 100,000 births. About 40% to 60% are stillborn, and an estimated 35% survive for a day. The overall survival rate is 5% to 25%.
McCullough admitted that she has received negative feedbacks online for choosing not to terminate the pregnancy. But she responded that she learned a kind of commitment in the Army. "I will never quit. I will never defeat. I will never leave a fallen soldier. Why don't my kids deserve that same kind of commitment?" she said.
Despite criticisms, many still showed her support. The day she flew to Colorado, family and friends got together and sent her off with a "prayer shower." She also found a support group Parental Partners for Life who lends a hand to parents who receive adverse or negative parental diagnosis. She is also actively updating her GoFundMe page to generate funds for her living and medical expenditures as she is currently on a medical leave.
