Back in 1995, a pair of twin baby girls was born prematurely, each weighing only about two pounds at birth. When they were three weeks old, one of the twins was struggling to breathe and her heart rate was soaring, while her oxygen level was starting to drop. Things didn't look good, so a nurse decided to try putting the twins in the same incubator to see if that would make any difference.
The healthier twin was named Kyrie and as soon as they put her in the incubator with her sister, Brielle, things started to change for the better. Kyrie put her arm around her sister and Brielle started to stabilize. A reporter happened to be in the hospital and captured the image in the video below, which became famous.
While it may seem incredible that this simple act would be enough to prevent a person from dying, it is entirely true. At the time, the procedure called co-bedding wasn't performed in the US. It is described on NCBI's website as "the practice of caring for diaper clad twins in one incubator (versus separating and caring for each infant in separate incubators), thus creating the opportunity for skin-to-skin contact and touch between the twins." While it is something that may not always work, it certainly worked in the case of Kyrie and Brielle. Check out the video to hear more about the birth and to see how they are doing seventeen years later.
Share
Tweet