World’s most premature twins certified by Guinness World Records

A Canadian brother and sister born at 22 weeks have been named by Guinness World Records as the world’s most premature twins.

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According to the BBC website, Adiah and Adrial Nadarajah were born at 126 days early, overtaking the previous record of 125 days early set in 2018 by twins Keeley and Kambry Ewoldt (USA, born 24 November 2018)

If the children had been born even one hour earlier than 22 weeks, life-saving measures would not have been attempted by the hospital, Guinness says.

A full-term pregnancy is usually 40 weeks, making them 18 weeks premature.

Mum Shakina Rajendram said that when she began labour at just 21 weeks and five days, doctors told her that the babies “were not viable” and had “0% chance of survival”.

It was her second pregnancy, after she lost her first just a few months earlier in the same hospital near their home in Ontario.

Most hospitals do not attempt to save children born before 24 to 26 weeks. But luckily, the couple were able to move to Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, which has a specialist neonatal intensive care unit.

On Mrs Rajendram’s second day of labour – 21 weeks and six days into the pregnancy – she was told that if the children were born even a few minutes before 22 weeks, they would be left to die.

Twins celebrated their first birthday

Despite heavy bleeding, she said she tried her best to “hold the babies in” for a few more hours.

Her water eventually broke 15 minutes after midnight. Less than two hours after entering 22 weeks in the womb, the children were born.

Adiah and Adrial have now lived to be one year old, despite serious medical issues early on.

Meanwhile, the most premature baby ever born was Curtis Means of Alabama, who was born at 21 weeks and one day.