Isipingo teacher welcomes second set of twins

An Isipingo mother has defied overwhelming odds to give birth to a second set of twins.

Fatima Yacoob Dildar, a teacher at Kamalinee Primary School who has just turned 40, gave birth to a second set of fraternal (develop from two different eggs) twins in December.

According to statistics the odds can be as high as 1 in 700,000 for a woman to have twins twice and highly unusual to have them so close together.

“Growing up, I always dreamed of having twins and I recall stopping people with twins just to have a chat with them. I was obsessed with twins,” said Fatima, who has been married to her soulmate Eidris for 10 years.

Both sides of her family have twins – Eidris’s uncle and her aunt.

READ ALSO: Nonagenarian twins still close after all these years

Her first-born son Zidaan was born in 2009. “Finding out we were expecting brought so much joy into our lives,” said Fatima. Zidaan was born naturally on 10 April, weighing 2.95kg, with mom needing no epidural or pain medication.

Six years later Fatima discovered she was pregnant again. “It was planned, but it did take some time before I fell pregnant. My son was very lonely and always complained that he was the only one in class who did not have a brother of sister. When my gynae announced we were expecting twins, we were in shock. It was like we were dreaming and we just couldn’t believe it.”

https://gph.is/1aRyKt2

Fatima’s pregnancy with the twins was not easy. She suffered from constant nausea which lasted almost five months. She was hospitalised twice, having to deal with bronchitis and went into early labour at 26 weeks.

It was a relief when her first set of twins, Zoha and Zoya were born via C-section at 36 weeks on 18 June in 2015, weighing 2.33kg and 2.18kg.

It was an absolute surprise for Fatima and Eidris to find out she was pregnant for a third time, nine months later.

“However I believe God will never give you something you would not be able to handle.”

Later in her pregnancy Fatima found out they were expecting fraternal girls. She went into pre-term labour at 26 weeks and had to be put on bed rest. Her health took a turn for the worst when her blood levels dropped and she had to have a blood transfusion. She spent a week in hospital, recovering from bronchitis and a severe chest infection.

Thankfully Imaan and Mehran were born healthy via C-section on 12 December, 2016.

“They are fraternal, but very similar. It took me two months to be able to identify them without using a name band,” said Fatima.

READ ALSO: Twins realise they look the same!

“Our biggest concern was how were we going to cope with four babies under the age of two, but I can gladly say it’s all working out.

“I thank God daily for my beautiful family and for my husband who has held my hand every step of the way.

“People are very interested in our family when they see us with so many children especially two sets of twins. It’s sometimes difficult to shop as people stop us all the time.

“There are many challenges, but my reward is that I have five beautiful children who make my day brighter with the words ‘l love you mom’.”