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Northern Irish couple Hannah and Dan Bateson blew ITV viewers away on Tuesday when they appeared on This Morning alongside their newborn conjoined twins Annabelle and Isabelle.
The gorgeous girls made their television debut this week - just eight weeks after they were born conjoined from the chest to the pelvis.
Sharing the story of their 'miracle' babies with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, proud parents Hannah and Dan revealed they had had a perfect birth, despite having prepared for the "worst case scenario."
While the twin girls share a bladder, bowel, and a fused leg, they crucially have separate hearts.
The news that they were expecting conjoined twins came as a major surprise to Dan and Hannah, but the couple "hoped for the best."
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Speaking live from county Antrim, Hannah said, “We went for an early scan and there was one heartbeat, and then we got the big shock that it was twins and that we had to see the consultant at the local hospital. Then as we saw another scan it dawned on us and I said, ‘are they conjoined?’, and he said ‘yes, I think they are.’”
She continued: "They were so determined and the fact we got to 35 weeks in itself was a miracle. We were preparing for the worst case [scenario] or very sick babies, but surprisingly, the girls were born so well. Once we heard those cries in delivery it just changed the whole tone. We weren’t prepared for it to go so well.”
Now that the family of four are back home safely, they're preparing for a lifetime of surgeries for Annabelle and Isabelle.
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On their next steps, Hannah explained: “I think a lot of it will only be discovered during surgery, we just have to have faith. But they’ve fought so hard to be here so far that it will go well, we just have to have that faith.
"They are very determined girls. It’ll be very long and different challenges for them both, and they will probably be going for surgeries for most of their lives, but we’re hoping that their quality of life should be good. I think they will fly through it and it’ll be more challenging for us!”
The Batesons have received overwhelming support and generosity from their local community on their journey so far.
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"These wee girls have just worked their way into so many people's hearts" admitted Hannah on Tuesday's show. "And we feel like there's so many people on this journey with us and that support we will need."
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV and ITV Hub
Topics: This Morning, TV And Film, ITV, Parenting
Ali Condon