Rosanna Davison on giving birth prematurely: 'Even the tiniest newborns can survive'

Rosanna had welcomed baby Sophia a few months prior, via Ukrainian surrogate Anastasiia Berezan, after a gruelling journey to motherhood, including 15 miscarriages along the way.

Booked in for a caesarean section on November 23, she was attending her final scan, when the doctor spotted something that had to be acted on immediately.

“One of the twins had not been getting enough blood and hadn’t been growing at the same rate. It was decided that I’d have to immediately go into hospital,” Rosanna said.

“The doctor said; ‘Go home, pack your bags, say goodbye to your daughter, and come straight back in.”

Although Rosanna hadn’t expected to go full term with the boys, this new delivery date was a week earlier than anticipated.

“They were due to arrive anyway at 36 weeks, but they arrived at 35 weeks. I was given steroids to bring the boys’ lungs on as much as possible, and I was on a heart monitor for most of that day.”

Hugo and Oscar were delivered the following morning — small, but mighty — growing stronger under the watchful eye of “the amazing team” in Holles St, Dublin.

“One twin was four pounds, seven ounces, and the other boy was five pounds, five ounces. They weren’t as tiny as some babies born prematurely, but they did spend a week in the neonatal unit in the National Maternity Hospital.”

Although it’s not something she thinks you can ever plan for, Rosanna’s experience was positive, and she wants to encourage other parents to remain hopeful amid such shocking news.

As paid partnerships go, Pampers may not be the first name that comes to mind for a former Miss World, but as the only brand that stocks preemie-size nappies, the collaboration was a natural fit.

Since 2017, Pampers has donated more than 900,000 Premium Protection nappies, to premature babies in Irish hospitals.

According to developmental experts, “kangaroo care” or skin-on-skin contact allows parents to develop a physical and emotional bond, with their premature baby. Generally, the baby is placed next to mum or dad’s skin chest and is naked, except for their nappy.

The last thing the parent of a premature baby wants to worry about is an ill-fitting nappy, Rosanna said, and Pampers’ preterm range comes in three different sizes.

“Our boys were in P1 [for babies weighing less than 1,800g]. The day after the boys were born, we were asked if we wanted to change their nappies for the first time. That was quite a significant moment, so it was lovely just to have the nappies on hand and to not be putting them in bigger, newborn-size nappies, and having to fold them over.”

“It’s all about ensuring that premature babies, with their super sensitive skin, are comfortable and that they’re sleeping properly. They sleep all day.”

The memories of those first few days, with her twin boys, came flooding back on the photoshoot for the Pampers campaign.

“It was part of our journey ... I just couldn’t believe that they were in such tiny nappies.”

Celebrating milestones is a rite of passage for a new parent, but for the parents of a premature baby, it is arguably even more significant.

“Babies, of course, grow fast, and within a month or two, they were in normal-sized newborn nappies.”

The fact that Rosanna was brought into the hospital on November 17, World Premature Baby Day is, she admits, a “strange sort of coincidence”.

“I think about it every year, how, thanks to advancements in technology and medical science, parents know that their babies are in the best possible hands.

“One in 16 babies are born prematurely in Ireland every year, so the number is not insignificant.”

There’s comfort in knowing others have walked the same path, she said.

“People have been through the same thing. There’s a different set of recommendations. Obviously, you have to be more careful about ensuring that the milk volumes are correct, for their growth needs. I was expressing milk because they were too small to latch on. I did breastfeed them a little bit, but I needed to know they were getting the correct volumes every day.”

The one thing Rosanna recommends avoiding is Doctor Google. “I was told from the beginning that they would probably arrive at 36 weeks, but when I went in for the final scan, and was told they’d have to arrive the next day and be closely monitored, I panicked.”

Hearing that news for the first time is not easy, Rosanna said, especially since she was alone.

“I remember walking out of the hospital to my car — my husband couldn’t come in because of covid. I was driving around with an enormous twin bump and I called my mum and said; ‘They’re arriving tomorrow.’

“There was something about not having my head in position for it. But I was prepared.”

Initially, when Rosanna heard that one of her babies was not growing at the same rate as the other one, it came as quite the shock.

“I was seen by a specialist twin consultancy team. They were really reassuring. One twin wasn’t growing at the same rate as the other, but he was still healthy. He still had normal heart rates. You can watch the blood flow through the placenta to their brains and organs on the scans. So I was assured that he was fine.

“It was just cautionary that they had to be delivered early.”

Luckily, Rosanna had little to no back or pelvic pain, which can be par for the course with a twin pregnancy.

“I had a pretty smooth ride up until then so I was grateful for that. It was just the very end, it was a bit more anxiety-inducing.”

As a self-employed entrepreneur, Rosanna had work commitments, right up until her due date.

“I was lying in hospital later that day sending millions of messages, because I still had work obligations, which is crazy to me when you think about it. I remember sending emails to clients and saying; “Sorry, I can’t do that thing for you tomorrow because I’ll be giving birth and you know, people coming back and laughing, saying: ‘Don’t worry about it.”

So, what’s Rosanna’s main advice for parents of premature babies?

“Have your bag packed so that you’re good to go in case anything unexpected happens.”

Trust is hugely important and the team at Holles Street assuaged any fear Rosanna was facing, with their expertise and hands-on care.

“The message is one of reassurance. Even the tiniest newborns can survive. They’re in the best possible hands. Everybody at the neonatal unit at the hospital was calm and reassuring, highly skilled and highly trained.”

Rosanna’s husband Wes is inside with the kids as she chats to me in the car but, now at three-years-old, she assures me that both are thriving.

“They’re so different, but similar. It’s so enjoyable to watch identical twins grow up together. If I have to bring one to the doctor and separate the twins, they mourn for each other. They give each other a big hug, and then they’re probably fighting five minutes later, but they’re obsessed with each other — and that’s lovely.”

• Rosanna Davison has joined up with Pampers, to show off their premature-size nappy range, for World Premature Baby Day, on November 17.