Minnesota woman gives birth to ultra rare mono mono twins

Channel: WCCO - CBS Minnesota
Uploaded by WCCO - CBS Minnesota on 20260802
Categories: News & Politics
Tags: WCCO 4 News, twins, minnesota, carrie zirbes, nicu, elizabeth hoover

Only 1 in 250 pregnancies is identical twins. What's even rarer is something called mono mono twins; those happen in 1 in 10,000 pregnancies. We met a Minneapolis family proving the odds can be against you and with you at the very same time. For video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com

This detailed overview highlights the story featured in the report by WCCO - CBS Minnesota:

Introduction to Rare Pregnancies: The segment opens by explaining the statistics of twin pregnancies, noting that identical twins occur in about 1 in 250 pregnancies [00:00]. However, an even rarer phenomenon is mono-mono twins (monochorionic

-monoamniotic twins), which happen in roughly 1 in 10,000 pregnancies (representing about 1% of all twin pregnancies) [00:09], [01:09].

The Family and the Surprise: The report introduces a North Minneapolis family who already had three children and decided to try for one "bonus baby" [00:033]. During an ultrasound, the mother was sh

ocked to see a second baby emerge in the background [00:46]. The initial surprise quickly turned into heightened concern when they learned they were expecting mono-mono twins [01:03].

Medical Risks and Challenges: Receiving care at M Health Fairview's fetal medicine center, the parents learned about the unique dangers associated wit

h mono-mono pregnancies [01:20]. Unlike other twins, mono-mono twins share a single amniotic sac and placenta, which creates serious complications such as umbilical cord entanglement [01:31]. The mother shared that she avoided excessive internet searching to keep from jumping to conclusions, holding her breath through a strenuous pr

egnancy without doing traditional nesting or planning [01:50], [02:11].

Early Delivery and NICU Stay: Things turned critical when the mother was placed on hospital bed rest [02:32]. Due to complications where baby B was transfusing blood to baby A—leaving baby A's heart enlarged and very small—doctors performed a delivery at 30 week

s for the safety of everyone involved [02:35]. Baby Fiona (Baby A) had to be resuscitated right away and was intubated because she was not breathing at birth [02:50]. Both babies spent time recovering in the NICU [03:04].

Thriving Toddlers: Fast forward to the present, the twins—named Fiona and Phoebe—recently celebrated their first

birthday [03:15]. Despite the immense challenges and the exponential difficulty of raising twins alongside their older siblings, the girls are healthy, happy, goofy, and active toddlers [03:22], [03:57].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is_m2_fzTEw

Minnesota woman gives birth to ultra rare mono mono twins

WCCO - CBS Minnesota · 1.1M

No image available for chunk 7

Viewer Discussion & Comments

@theundone777

Oh, they are so lucky they weren't conjoined! This is the same anomaly that can cause conjoined twins.

@Jish4579

I had mono twins at 42, they 15yrs old now ❤❤

@ledigisi3283

My mono-mono twins are 16 months old. It was a roller coaster ride, but thankfully they both made it and are healthy today 🙏🏻

@chrismalzahn8645

So happy both babies are ok!

@evp-2026

My twins are mono mono. They are 21 yrs old now! Thanks be to God

@marianafaria6960

My girls are mono mono twins. Born at 30 weeks. They are turning 12 yo next month

@leftfinned

I had mono/mono twins 17 years ago! I didn’t make the news. They are doing great.

@caroledavis3741

I worked with a gal that had twins like this. She had to go on bed rest. Both were born and had to go into NICU. They are in first grade now.

@muziknurd

FionA and PhoeBe is this best twin name pair I've ever heard

@edwarddeguerre6724

I knew mono-mono was rare, but I didn't know how rare.

@a-lynka

When I saw the father, I thought the twins look exactly like him, and then saw the mom and wow, they all look like one another haha

@100FactChecks

My parents were surprised when they went to the hospital expecting a boy and came home with twin girls. Dad always said divide and conquer -- if they divide, you're conquered! My Dad was the best girl Dad ever. I miss him.

@TheSouthIsHot

This family reminds me of my mother. My mother had her 1st baby at 35yo. Less than 2 years later, she had her 2nd baby. Less than 2 years after her 2nd baby, she had paternal twins. She had 4 babies in 3 years 8 months. I don't know how you did it, Mom. Thank you for being so gentle and kind through it all. I will always love you.❤

@lee-d1y5y

Our "same sack twins", born 33 years ago via emergency C section at 35 weeks, not so lucky. One baby was not developed properly due to umbilical cord tangles. She passed away 3 weeks old. Could have been both. Thier fraternal twin older siblings were 21 months at the time. 🤍🕊 Blessings to this family, and thier amazing story.

@lindseyleed

I lost a momo twin pregnancy in 2018. This was hard to watch. Cord entanglement. 😢