Heartwarming moment identical twins meet after a month apart

When these identical twins met for the very first time they went straight for a hug, and the magical moment will have you in tears.

Twin sisters Olivia and Zoe were born prematurely at just 29 weeks, and heartbreakingly had to spend their first month of life apart as they individually built up their strength.

However, when the girls were finally reunited after 27 long days, they couldn’t have been more excited, reaching across their mum’s chest to share their first embrace.

Sharing a photo of the beautiful moment to Instagram, their mum Ann Le said, “27 days after birth the girls finally got to meet. Zoe immediately went in for the hug.”

The emotional experience was “so much more than we could have expected” the 29-year-old told the Daily Mail.

“Olivia was placed on me first, then when it was Zoe’s turn, she reached out her left arm and hugged her sister. My tears were flowing, it’s a moment I’ll never forget,” she said.

Weighing just over 1kg each, the girls are monochorionic monoamniotic, or ‘momo’, twins, meaning they shared an amniotic sac. Most identical twins develop in their own sacs, but might share a placenta.

While the rare condition has meant the girls clearly have a special bond, it also poses risks in pregnancy, with momo twins forced to compete for space and nutrients while in the womb.

Twins of this kind also have only a 50% chance of survival before the 26 week mark, meaning the one month milestone marks a significant victory.

“It has been emotionally draining for my husband and I,” Ann said “But now that they have passed the one month mark, their chances of survival are now greater than 95 per cent.”

The little family has just hit six weeks in total spent in the NICU, and Ann hopes the girls could be home by April.

She has taken to Instagram to share the family’s journey, with sweet snaps and updates showing their progress.

If the photos Ann has shared on her Instagram and blog are anything to go by, it looks like the little family are more than making up for lost cuddle time!