A FAMILY are celebrating the safe arrival of their triplets following a rollercoaster pregnancy.

Claire Cerikci and her husband Gurcan were thrilled when they found out they were expecting another baby – and even more excited when they discovered Claire was pregnant with triplets.

But their joy turned to fear when it was found two of the babies were monoamnioitic twins, a rare condition which means they were both sharing the same amniotic sac and placenta.

Claire, from Danbury, said: “This meant they were extremely high risk.

“They could have suffered from twin-to-twin transfusion, meaning one grows too big and the other doesn’t grow, and cord entanglement, which means they make a knot in their umbilical cords and could potentially starve each other, or themselves, of oxygen and nutrients.

“My babies’ cords were found to be entangled at 16 weeks, meaning it was a worrying pregnancy throughout.

“I went for bi-weekly scans until I was 24 weeks and then went weekly until their delivery at University College Hospital, in London, which specialises in multiple pregnancies.

“My consultant particularly specialises in the monoamnioitic twins in a triplet pregnancy.

“I was told that in a twin pregnancy there is a 1 in 65,000 chance of this happening, but it is even rarer in a triplet pregnancy.

“The last time University College Hospital saw someone with the same type of triplet pregnancy was two years ago.”

Thankfully, on January 5, Claire’s babies were safely delivered by caesarean at Broomfield Hospital, in Chelmsford.

Identical twins, Kuzey and Koray, were delivered first at 11.29am, weighing 3lb 13ozs each, and Ayaz followed at 11.30am, weighing 4lb 2ozs.

Claire said: “They all came out crying and needed just minimal breathing assistance after birth.

They were all breathing by themselves by day four. It’s such a relief, they are all beautiful.”

The relieved family, who include Claire and Gurcan’s other children, Yaren, nine, Kutay, eight, and Kaya, three, are now looking forward to the babies coming home from hospital in the next fewweeks.