Woman has to lie 'upside-down' for 75 DAYS to save lives of her two premature children

           Joanna Krzysztonek with one of her surviving babies after she was able to hold off giving birth for 75 days

A mother-to-be lay nearly upside down in labour for a staggering 75 days to make sure her twins survived - after another baby she was carrying was born prematurely and died.

Joanna Krzysztonek risked contracting a uterus infection that could have caused a fatal haemorrhage or destroyed her chances of having further children.

She also suffered from dizzy spells by lying at a 35 degree angle for more than 10 weeks in a desperate attempt to save her two remaining unborn children.

The 31-year-old was delighted when she first discovered she was expecting triplets. The pregnancy proceeded normally and Mrs Krzysztonek continued to go to work. But her joy turned to anguish in December when she went into labour at just 22 weeks and gave birth to one baby who was too premature to survive.

Remarkably, doctors at her neo-natal clinic in Wroclaw were able to stop her from having the other two by administering medication to ease the contractions. Joanna was also virtually confined to bed lying with her head at a lower level than her hips.

Medics, led by chief obstetrician Mariusz Zimmer, then tied the umbilical cord and put it back inside the uterus.

She said: 'I sighed with relief that there was a chance to keep the pregnancy and to give the babies a chance to be born successfully. All the time I was thinking only about them.'

She eventually gave birth to baby daughter Iga and son Ignacy on February 15, 2012 via Caesarean section. Each child weighed a little under 4lbs.