LARA Eastwood and her fiancé Daniel Turner were overjoyed when they discovered they were expecting twins.
But the couple’s world came crashing down at their eight-week scan when they were told they had lost one of their babies.
In a further cruel twist one month later, Lara, 36, and Daniel 43, were delivered the devastating news that the dead foetus hadn’t dissolved.
Doctors said they were experiencing a twin molar pregnancy – when there is a problem with the fertilised egg which means the baby and placenta don’t develop in the way they should.
Lara was told she should terminate but she fought for a second opinion.
She was then diagnosed with a partial molar pregnancy with a co-existing twin.
Her doctor told her there are just 44 reported cases in the world.
Lara decided to continue with her pregnancy – despite the fact the the lump of tissue from the dead placenta can develop into cancer, putting her and her unborn child at risk.
Now, 36 weeks along, Lara won’t know if one or both of them is impacted until the birth.
Lara, a nurse from Nottingham, said: “If I hadn’t been medical and hadn’t looked after patients with molar pregnancies then I think I would have made the decision to terminate.
“It was only because of my stubbornness and my instinct.
“Hopefully I’ll get a healthy baby and it will all be worth it.”
Lara and Daniel, a physiotherapist, were excited when they found out they were expecting twins in February 2024 – after suffering three losses.
Lara started to experience bleeding and pain but her scans continued to look fine and showed two heartbeats.
The couple – who have a son Oliver, three – went for their eight-week scan just after Easter and were told one of their twins had passed away.
“I was grieving the one that was gone,” Lara said.
“I didn’t want to eat. But I was very conscious that you can’t not eat because you’ve got another one.
“It was such a conflict of emotions.”
It was my decision to carry on and put myself and the baby at risk
Lara Eastwood
At 12 weeks, Lara went for another scan ready to try to put the loss behind her and focus on growing her remaining baby.
“I went into the room and knew something was wrong straight away,” she said.
“I heard the word molar thrown around.
“The dead one was still there – it hadn’t been dissolved. I knew what that potentially meant.”
Lara was aware of molar pregnancies from her experience as a nurse.
She was given three options – to terminate the very next day, medically terminate in a week, or “bury her head in the sand”.
Lara wanted a second opinion as she didn’t want to give up, having now experienced four losses.
The next week she had a call from the doctor who told her it was a twin molar pregnancy.
“I said, ‘It can’t be – mine had a heartbeat’,” she said.
“In molar pregnancies, it just looks like a cell. It looks like a mass of tissue. And mine looked like a baby.”
Lara pushed back explaining that she had heard a heartbeat on four scans – which she said wouldn’t have been possible if it was a molar pregnancy.
She was referred to a specialist, who thought it could be a partial molar pregnancy with a co-existing twin – where the egg is fertilised by two sperm which results in three sets of chromosomes instead of the usual two, and which forms a triploidy with 69 chromosomes.
Lara said: “My doctor found 44 case reports of this in the world. It’s beyond rare.”
Lara had a CVS – where a needle is inserted into the placenta to remove tissue – in May 2024 which confirmed her diagnosis.
Due to the procedure, she had a one in 50 chance of losing her living baby – including in the two weeks following it.
“I can’t tell you how I even functioned,” she said.
“It just felt that wherever I went, it was more s*** news.
“Now we know it is a partial molar, it can develop into cancer.”
Usually the placenta would be removed and sent off for testing. But as Lara was still carrying a live baby, her case was more complicated.
She said: “I have got endometriosis. In five pregnancies, I have lost four babies.
“I asked, ‘Is there a chance I can continue?’ – and he said yes.
“It was my decision to carry on and put myself at risk.
“I can live with myself if this baby doesn’t make it. I’ve given it the best possible chance to get here.”
A MOLAR pregnancy is a rare complication that happens by chance.
It is when there is a problem with a fertilised egg, which means a baby and a placenta do not develop in the way they should after conception.
Molar pregnancies may seem regular at first, but they cannot develop into a healthy baby.
They can be complete, when a sperm fertilises an empty egg that contains no genes from the woman and no parts of the baby form.
Or they can be partial, when two sperm fertilise the egg at the same time, so there is one set of female chromosomes and two sets of male chromosomes, and there may be some tissue that looks like a foetus.
Despite early signs of a baby, it cannot fully develop or survive.
In rare cases, a twin pregnancy will show a normal developing baby and a molar pregnancy at the same time.
For many women, it is possible for the pregnancy to continue. But if you have complications, it may not be able to. Speak to your doctor.
Source: NHS and Cancer Research UK
Lara has been monitored closely and is now nearly at 36 weeks, but she still hasn’t bought anything for the baby.
“We won’t know if this baby is going to have anything wrong with it until I deliver,” she said.
“It’s been the most horrendous pregnancy. I feel totally robbed.”
Lara may be able to deliver naturally as her baby is at the bottom and has moved the dead placenta to the side, but a decision on whether she will have a C-section has not yet been made.
After giving birth, the placentas will be sent off to a specialist centre to be tested.
Lara will also be monitored with urine and blood checks to see if she has any signs of cancer.
If there is, she would then need chemotherapy for four to six months.
This type of cancer is very treatable and most women survive, but like any form of the disease, it carries life-changing risks.
“It’s just a scary thing,” Lara said. “If the tissue is gone then my body has dissolved it.”
Lara hopes to raise awareness of the rare pregnancy so others can understand it.
She also wants to support others going through pregnancy loss and has started the organisation Roaring Rainbows.
