Joined At The Heart – Siamese Twins Are Born Alive

Faith and Hope, two Siamese twins sharing heart and lungs were born face to face at Auckland’s National Women’s Hospital yesterday morning.

The twins weighing 4 kilos were born to a Wairoa couple Bruce and Denise Emberson who had continued the pregnancy despite doctor’s advice to terminate the birth.

Physicians had doubted the twins delivered by caesarian would be born alive. A paediatrician speaking for the family said they had made steady progress.

Siamese twins occur once in every 100,000 births. Faith and Hope are the fifth set born in New Zealand, and only the third to survive birth.

Doctors said it was far to early to tell if the twins could be separated but with the organs sharing it was unlikely.

The couple have signed an exclusive deal with TV3’s 20/20 programme to tell their story.

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