A mum in the UK has given birth to simultaneous twins in what medics have said is a rare phenomenon.
Even though both Diane McLaren and her husband Daniel knew that they were expecting a set of twins, they were absolutely shocked when both came out at the same time.
Molly and Micky McLaren were both born naturally in the same push, leaving midwives stunned.
Diane, who is a mum of five, was told to give a massive push as the head of one of the twins was seen crowning at University Hospital Wishaw, in North Lanarkshire. While Micky emerged head first, Molly then came out feet first at the same time.
The birth of the pair was a first for the hospital and word quickly spread about Diane’s birth, which prompted visits from several intrigued doctors and hospital staff.
The mum was ecstatic to announce she could say her two youngest were born at the exact same time
She told : “I thought Micky was stuck. I gave a massive push and there was a big whoosh. I thought I’d delivered my son, but the team were all huddled together and then the midwife said, ‘Both the babies are here now.’
“I was a bit woozy and I said, ‘What do you mean?’ She said, ‘You have delivered them both at once. The foot belonged to your daughter’.
“She had somehow managed to turn herself breach and her foot came out the exact same time as his head.’ The hospital said they have never had a birth like it.
“There were doctors and nurses coming from all over the hospital to meet the new famous twins because they had heard of how they entered the world and wanted to see them for themselves. I registered their birth a few weeks later and the registry office staff were really shocked.
“They had to contact the hospital for confirmation before they could put on their birth certificates that they were born at the same time.”
Diane and Daniel, 34, a Warburton’s worker, lost a pregnancy in 2021, meaning the twins are rainbow babies for the couple.
The pair were overjoyed to learn last year that they would be parents again, as they also have three further children, their daughter Georgia, 10, nine-year-old Adam and Rory, three.
Molly weighed 5lb 4oz, while her brother came in at a slightly bigger 6lb 11oz. However, the birth had been far more painful than what she had experienced before.
She explained: “I gave a big push because the midwife said she could see the boy’s head crowning – she remained very calm throughout which really helped. I was very frightened because they were talking about whether it was his hand or his foot over his head, and I couldn’t understand why things didn’t seem to be going as expected.
“When they were born everyone got such a fright. Poor Daniel said he just saw two babies flop onto the bed at once and thought the worst. Molly had a very bruised foot and leg right up to her knee, and Micky was completely black in colour from the neck up due to the position he had been stuck in with her foot pressed against him. But they were both absolutely fine.”