At 20 weeks pregnant with twins, Andrea Goodrich was given the heartbreaking news that losing both babies seemed inevitable.
Yesterday, however, she was cradling two healthy daughters after one saved the other's life before they were born.
Scans had revealed that one of the girls, Kiki, had a heart problem and fluid was leaking from the placenta.
But miraculously her sister Nico positioned herself so low in the womb that she acted as a plug.
"We truly believe she acted as her sister's guardian angel," said Mrs. Goodrich, 39, from Camberley, Surrey.
"I feel the luckiest mum alive. To all intents and purposes after what happened the twins shouldn't be here. But remarkably it was as if Nico sensed something was wrong. What she did saved Kiki's life," she added.
When Mrs. Goodrich went for a routine 20-week scan and doctors noticed a strange halo around Kiki's heart.
"I was referred to a London hospital for further tests but within two days I'd started bleeding and doctors told us the placenta had ruptured," Mrs. Goodrich said.
Worse was to come when tests also confirmed a tear in the amniotic sac, which meant the waters were leaking.
Doctors explained that at just 20 weeks, the babies had no chance of survival if they were born.
All medical staff could do was admit her to hospital and wait for what they believed was the inevitable miscarriage.
But doctors were amazed when they did a scan to find Nico, who was healthy with an intact placenta, was lying underneath Kiki.
Amazingly, Nico stayed in that position. And it was a huge relief when we got to the 24-week milestone.
At 30 weeks, Mrs. Goodrich had an emergency caesarean. Nico was born first weighing 3lb 6oz, followed five minutes later by 3lb 1oz Kiki.
"And when they get older, we will tell both of them the reason they have such a special bond isn't only because they shared a womb but because before they were even born, Nico saved Kiki's life," Mrs. Goodrich said.


据英国《每日邮报》8月14日报道，安德莉亚•古德里奇在怀胎20周时，不幸被告知她腹中的双胞胎性命难保。

而就在昨天，她已经在照料两个健康的女儿了。这对胎儿在出生前，其中的一个拯救了另一个的生命。

通过扫描发现，其中一个叫琪琪的孩子患有心脏病，液体一直从胎盘中渗出来。

但神奇的是，她的姐姐尼克将自己的身体像塞子一样置于母亲子宫的底部。

来自萨里郡康贝利的39岁的古德里奇太太说:"我们真的觉得她就是妹妹的守护天使。"

"我觉得自己是最幸运的妈妈，本来无论怎么样，她俩都不会在这儿的，但是神奇的是尼克似乎意识到了这个问题，她所做的事情挽救了妹妹的生命。"她补充说。

当古德里奇太太在进行怀孕20周例行检查时，医生注意到琪琪的心脏上有一个奇怪的光环。

"他们建议我去伦敦的一家医院接受进一步检查，可是两天之后我就开始流血，医生告诉我胎盘已经破裂了，" 古德里奇太太说。

更糟糕的是，他们还检测到，羊膜囊也破裂了，羊水开始外流。

医生解释说，孩子只有20周大，就算出生了也无法存活。

医务人员所能做无非就是让她住院，他们认为只能等着她流产。

但让医生感到吃惊的是，他们在扫描时发现，尼克很健康并且胎盘发育完整，她正躺在琪琪的下方。

太神奇了，尼克竟然待在那个位置。到第24周时，病情开始出现转机，我们也松了一口气。

第30周时，古德里奇太太进行了人工剖腹产。尼克先出生，重3磅6盎司的，5分钟后琪琪也出生了，重3磅1盎司。

"当他们再大些时，我们就会告诉她们，这种特殊关系不仅在于曾在同一个子宫，而且在她们出生之前，尼克就挽救了琪琪的生命," 古德里奇太太说。

• healthy [´helθi] a.健康的 (初中英语单词)
• medical [´medikəl] a.医学的；医疗的 (初中英语单词)
• underneath [,ʌndə´ni:θ] ad.&prep.在底下 (初中英语单词)
• relief [ri´li:f] n.救济；援救；减轻 (初中英语单词)
• guardian [´gɑ:diən] n.监护人；保护人 (高中英语单词)
• routine [ru:´ti:n] n.日常工作 a.日常的 (高中英语单词)
• inevitable [i´nevitəbəl] a.不可避免的 (高中英语单词)
• emergency [i´mə:dʒənsi] n.事变；紧急关头 (高中英语单词)
• remarkably [ri´mɑ:kəbli] ad.非凡地；显著地 (英语四级单词)
• pregnant [´pregnənt] a.怀孕的；含蓄的 (英语六级单词)
• intact [in´tækt] a.未动过的，完整的 (英语六级单词)