CRADLING their five-week old sons Jack and Harry, Michaela and William Carpenter are a picture of contentment.
But only five weeks ago the Swindon couple's serenity was shattered with the news that Michaela was going into labour 11 weeks ahead of schedule.
The twins should not have put in appearance until next month.
"It was very unexpected," recalled the 28-year-old mum, of St Andrew's Ridge.
"I only went in for a check-up and the next thing I knew I was told I was in labour.
"My waters then broke at 3.30pm and I gave birth at 5pm. The boys were born 10 minutes apart and they were put in an incubator to help them breathe.
"It was terrible at first because you feel so helpless but we were able to hold them for a couple of hours the next day."
William, 30, who works at Honda, added: "I was quite scared when the doctors said Michaela was going into labour because you just don't expect your babies to be born so premature.
"I was frightened, but Michaela was so calm because she works in the intensive care unit.
"But the staff said the babies were quite big, which was nice to hear, and look at them now.
"We'll be able to take them home in a few weeks on the date that they should have been born."
Jack and Harry were born weighing just 3lb 5.5oz and 3lb, respectively, and were the latest arrivals to receive treatment at the Great Western Hospital's special baby care unit.
The unit, which can cater for 18 babies, provides specialist care for premature or sick babies and has proved to be a lifeline for hundreds of newborn babies.
Jan Hall, a sister in the special baby care unit, said: "We have 18 cots, four are reserved for ITU cases, four are for high dependency and the rest are for low dependency.
"The unit helps babies who have difficulty in breathing for themselves but we also take sick babies from the children's ward who are under a year old.
"We have fives nurses who work on each shift but it is not unusual for the whole unit to be full."
And with that in mind, premature baby charity BLISS is calling on the Government to provide even more resources for special baby care units after a study showed they are seriously overstretched.
Research from BLISS entitled Special care for sick babies: choice or chance? has highlighted the need for more special care cots and nurses on a national level and the need to improve the care for the 80,000 babies that are born prematurely each year.
And to get its message across, the charity invited South Swindon MP Anne Snelgrove to visit the special unit yesterday.
Mrs Snelgrove was given a tour of the unit and talked to staff about the care given to newborn babies.
"I found it really inspirational to talk to the consultants, the staff and the parents," she said.
"It is a wonderful unit and a real credit to the staff that work there. BLISS told me that the special baby care unit at the Great Western Hospital is one of the best in the country, so we are very lucky to have such a state-of-the-art facility in Swindon.
"But I have promised them that I will take to health ministers about the staffing levels in such units across the country."
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