A MUM of incredibly rare identical twins who defied the odds to survive has told how she has found hope from devastation through a ‘lifeline’ children’s hospice.

Rachel Sheppard discovered she was expecting ‘MoMo’ or monochorionic and monoamniotic twins, which means they develop in the same amniotic sac and share the same placenta instead of having one each.

Doctors warned if the babies moved around, their umbilical cords could become tangled and they could even kill each other.

She said: “Five days after giving birth to twins I went home with two balloons instead of two babies. We only got five congratulations cards.

"People simply didn’t know what to say, others avoided me altogether. I felt unbelievably sad.”

Rachel and husband Chris were told to prepare for the worst due to the condition which affects one in 60,000 pregnancies with a survival rate of 50 per cent.

She explained: “They could literally kill one another because of the risk of their umbilical cords becoming tangled, cutting off the blood supply to one or both of them.

“Against all the odds they were born alive, but noone expected them to survive. I went into emotional meltdown.”

Chloe and Eloise were born by emergency C-section at 31 weeks.

Chloe suffered three brain injuries before she was born and then endured 100 resuscitations, and as a result she has been left brain damaged.

“I would be breastfeeding Eloise watching Chloe being resuscitated,” said Rachel.

“We felt devastated and hopeless because no one could say what was going to happen to Chloe, only that her future was bleak and she would be severely disabled.”

Rachel, from Wimborne, has chosen to share her story for Children’s Hospice Week describing the support she has received from Dorset’s Julia’s House as ‘a ray of light’.

She explained: “My husband went back to work while I stayed at home and cared for the girls. I felt so isolated and lonely. For months my only social circle had been doctors and nurses.

“There were no toddler groups, no tea and cakes or the chance to meet other mums before Julia’s House stepped in.”

Julia’s House, provides regular, frequent respite for families across Dorset and Wiltshire in its hospice or at home, giving parents a break from the stress and exhaustion of caring round the clock for a very sick child.

Julia’s House is there for families who often have nowhere else to turn for support.

There are 49,000 children in the UK with health conditions that are life-limiting or life-threatening - that’s one in every 270 children, the equivalent of one in every school.

Rachel, whose twins are now one, said: “When I met Sophie, Chloe’s Julia’s House nurse, it was a wonderful day. It was so lovely to have someone to talk to. “After all the trauma it felt like something really positive was happening for once.

“Julia’s House was like this ray of light coming into our lives.

“Just because I am smiling and seem to be getting on with life doesn’t mean I’m coping. Underneath it all, it's a daily struggle.

“People say to me: ‘How do you cope?’ I just have to cope for all our sakes. If I started crying I would never stop.

“Knowing that once a week I have the chance to leave the house and have a break - have contact with the outside world – means everything to me. I get a lot of comfort from that.

“Julia’s House a place full of friendly faces, where no-one judges you, no-one asks awkward questions and no-one is scrutinising you. It’s a warm welcoming place, free from ignorance and prejudice – it’s my lifeline.”

Children’s Hospice Week, organised by UK charity Together For Short Lives, aims to educate and celebrate the work of hospices like Julia’s House.

For information go to juliashouse.org