Rare twins born holding hands on Mother's Day in Ohio

AKRON, Ohio (KABC) -- A rare set of twins were born holding hands in the delivery room, making for an extraordinary Mother's Day weekend for one Ohio mom.

"It was just so awesome, and they were both holding hands, and it was so great to hear them both cry. It was just a miracle," said Sarah Thistlethwaite.

Thistlethwaite gave birth to twin girls on Friday at 33 weeks, but they had been rushed to intensive care. On Sunday, they were removed from ventilators and finally held in their parents' arms.

The girls, Jenna and Jillian, are a rare set of monoamniotic, or "mono mono," identical twins, which means they shared an amniotic sack and were in constant contact during the pregnancy.

Doctors monitored the twins for about two months, as mono mono twins can become entangled in each other's umbilical cords. Thistlethwaite was on bed rest for weeks at Akron General Medical Center.

As doctors held up the girls holding hands, there wasn't a dry eye in the whole OR, the mother said.

"What was going through my mind? I don't know. I couldn't think. I started tearing up immediately," said father Bill Thistlethwaite. "It was beautiful."