Video Of Premature Newborn Twins Holding Tiny Hands Goes Viral

A video recently posted to Facebook shows the heartwarming moment that a set of premature newborn twins hold tiny hands while their proud father cradled them in his arms against his chest.

The video, showing the twins — from Victoria, Australia — holding hands while sleeping snuggled against their father’s chest, has gone viral online and charmed the hearts of millions of social media users worldwide.

Anthea Jackson-Rushford, proud mom of the set of twins — born at 29 weeks on January 4, weighing 2.2 pounds — posted to Facebook a short video showing her twins holding hands while sleeping on their father’s chest.

The twins, Kristiana and Kristian, appeared to have formed a bond.

In the one-minute clip, which went viral after it was uploaded to Facebook on January 13, Anthea marvels at the sight of the newborns holding hands while sleeping.

“He actually holds her hand. How is that possible? This is just unbelievable,” she says.

“It’s like he’s going, ‘I’ve got you.’ He’s moving his fingers up and down,” their father Glen replies.

The video went viral immediately after it was uploaded to Facebook, with tens of thousands of shares and millions of views.

https://www.facebook.com/cookie.jackson/posts/10156466775205252?pnref=story

The proud mother gushes excitedly in an update to her Facebook page, “my lil angels! They are famous and so is their daddy lol!”

Since the video went viral, Anthea has been updating her Facebook page with news on the progress of her precious twins, and friends and supporters have responded with messages of support and encouragement.

Anthea had announced the birth of her twins with a post to her Facebook page on January 5.

https://www.facebook.com/cookie.jackson/posts/10156469829420252?pnref=story

“Just informing our dear friends and family that Glen and I delivered our two little cherubs last night and they are doing fine,” she wrote. “They were eager to get here quite before their due date and they did exactly that.”

“Attached pics of Kristian Ian Rushford and Kristiana Micaela Rushford. Weighed in at just under a kilo each,” she added.

And despite being born several weeks premature, the twins, according to their mother, are “doing fine.”

https://www.facebook.com/cookie.jackson/posts/10156469826825252?pnref=story

Photos and videos uploaded to Jackson-Rushford’s Facebook page and YouTube channel show the twins holding hands while sleeping on their dad’s and mom’s chests.

“As you can clearly see, they can’t stop holding hands,” the proud mother comments.

Anthea explained that she was sharing images of her twins to encourage other parents with premature babies.

https://www.facebook.com/cookie.jackson/posts/10156469753835252?pnref=story

“We realize it may be a tad bit disturbing seeing our twins with tubes but they are premie babies so it is understandable and normal,” Anthea writes.

“I’m sharing photos and videos for the simple reason that it gives hope to all parents out there that even they do just fine,” she continues. “To all parents that face this, be comforted in knowing that today anything is possible and your babies will be just fine.”

The incidence of preterm birth is relatively high in twins and triplets, with 57 percent of twins and nearly all triplets born at or before 37 weeks, according to BabyCenter.

Doctors generally consider 37 weeks normal for twins, compared with 40 weeks full-term for single babies.

Recent improvements in neonatal care have resulted in higher survival rates for premature babies. New practices, such as “Kangaroo mother care” (KMC) (see Anthea’s YouTube above), which promotes skin contact between the baby and mother, beginning, if possible, from birth, have helped to improve survival rates.

[Photo By Ariel Schalit/AP]