A NEWPORT mum has expressed her appreciation for the NHS following the birth of her twins who arrived ten weeks early.

Charlotte Hocking Brown, 33, has shared her positive experience after welcoming both her son and daughter in February.

Her premature twins spent ten weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Grange Hospital.

She told the South Wales Argus that staff went above and beyond to help both her and her babies through a tough period.

“The twins were in the NICU for about ten weeks. They came three months early, which was a shock as I was on the phone to my boss discussing maternity leave when my waters broke.

“I was in the hospital at the Grange for three days before I had to have an emergency caesarean section as they could feel the bum of my baby girl.

Twins Nancy and Jac were due on Tuesday, May 7, but to Charlotte's surprise, they were born on Sunday, February 25, at 6am.

“It was unexpected when my waters broke as the journey had started. But then I had an injection to stop the labour and they gave the babies steroids to delay it for three days.

“It was my first month of trying to have a baby and to have twins is very lucky, nobody on either side of the baby's family has had twins either.

“After spending a lot of time in the NICU you wouldn’t believe the number of twins that came through, it's like there is something in the water in Gwent.”

Ms Hocking Brown suffered from severe hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition that Princess Kate Middleton had during her pregnancy where women suffer extreme sickness.

Despite battling severe morning sickness, she has praised the Maternity Unit at the Grange Hospital for their outstanding care towards mums with babies in the NICU.

She added: “I was so poorly with severe morning sickness that I lost a stone and a half in six weeks. Aside from that there were no complications during the pregnancy.

“I cannot thank the midwives enough; they were fantastic and they care for you on a different level.

"They are not there to look after you, they say they are, but they are not, they are there to care for your poor children.

“But for me, I felt my whole journey was with them. I think they cared for me on another level, and I have developed relationships with women.

"I can't express how amazing they were and for the support not just for my babies but for me too.”

Ms Hocking Brown has thanked Fiona, Helen, Claire, Jodie, Lottie, Sandeep, Ellie, Trinity, Ann, and Roisim of the maternity team along with the catering staff for their amazing support.