The Petersen twins celebrate five years

When Kate and Michael Petersen found out they were expecting identical twins they were over the moon, but their joy turned to fear when their babies were diagnosed with a life-threating condition.

“I was naively excited when I found out I was pregnant; I was in awe of the fact that we were going to have two babies and then three kids,” Kate said.

During Kate’s 16 week scan, doctors diagnosed Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS)—a condition in which blood from one twin is transfused into the other twin through their shared placenta.

The couple were referred to Dr Glenn Gardener at Mater’s Centre for Maternal Fetal Medicine.

“We tried to stay strong for our son Sam and live life as normally as we could but it was like having a black cloud over us the whole time,” Kate said.

“We didn't know if we were going to have one baby, two babies or any babies.”

At 23 weeks gestation, Dr Gardener performed laser surgery in-utero on the couple’s twin daughters, saving their precious lives. 

Twelve weeks later, Charlotte and Chelsea were delivered naturally at 35 weeks gestation.

“It was a feeling of complete relief and elation that we’d made it and that they were both healthy and gorgeous,” Kate said.

“Glenn Gardener is our hero, for sure. Not only given the skill he has medically, but his bedside manner and his knowledge and his confidence and just his demeanour is so reassuring.”

Earlier this month, Charlotte and Chelsea celebrated their fifth birthdays and are getting ready to embark on an exciting new adventure with their family—moving to France for a year.

“They’ve been taking French lessons for six months and will miss Prep here to do ‘ecole maternelle’ in a french country school.

“Their health is excellent and while they have always been close but the last six months has seen them seal their ‘BFF’ status and they are virtually inseparable.  

“They fight, of course, like all siblings but I've never seen anyone forgive and forget quite as quickly as they do.” 

“We so often forget what the outcome could have been but we are grateful that they are happy, vibrant little princesses,” Kate said.

"Chelsea has an incredible ability to be compassionate for others, and she runs defense for her sister all the time!  

"Charlotte is hilarious; she has slipped into the role of 'family entertainment' and doesn't mind us laughing at her expense. There's not much she won't do to get a giggle out of us."  

As the first hospital in Australia to perform this type of specialised surgery, Mater continues to lead the way in maternal fetal medicine.