A MUM who lost her twins to a rare condition is raising funds to honour the support centre that took care of her.

Kate Gough was nervous but excited to give birth to her first child in 2015.

At her first scan, she was surprised with the news that she was expecting twins.

During the normal 18-week scan, the technician referred Kate for a more specialist scan the next day.

She prepared for the next day, aware that surgery would be needed if the girls had a twin-related condition.

The next day, it was discovered that Mia and Clara had twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, a rare and serious condition.

Kate was rushed to surgery to cut the abnormal connecting vessels between her twins to allow normal blood flow and continue the pregnancy.

After the procedure, Mia and Clara both had heartbeats and were improving, and the couple considered a follow-up to prevent preterm labour.

Then, Kate was rushed into the intensive therapy unit after becoming extremely unwell.

She said: “They told me that I was going into miscarriage due to chorioamnionitis, an infection in the uterus following my surgery.

“The world went black, and I went into shock and disbelief that continuing the pregnancy would result in sepsis and toxic shock and that my body was ending the pregnancy to save my life.

“But heart-wrenchingly, the girls, who had been improving, did not survive. They were too young to be born at 19 weeks.

“It was an impossible situation; I would have happily swapped my life for theirs at that moment, but it would have taken all of us.”

Kate received counselling from University Hospital Dorset's SPRING centre and now she is lacing up her walking boots to walk the Inca Trail for Mia, Clara, SPRING and all other babies lost.

Kate added: “Every step I take will be in memory of every baby lost, but mostly to make my daughters proud of their mum. I will truly be standing in the clouds. Reaching altitudes of 2000m, I will feel so close to them, and I imagine the moment we reach the viewing point - exhausted, proud and reflective.

“I can experience magnificence for them. I carry them with me every day and strive to make them proud of the life I am living. Because I live it for them.”

Donations to Kate’s fundraiser can be made via a JustGiving titled, SPRING - Supporting parents and relatives through baby loss.