Brooke Metcalfe and her husband Tom, from Fallowfield, are raising money for a specialist Twin Pod system for the neonatal transport service at Saint Mary's Hospital, Connect North West, after their premature twin boys, James and Marcus, died just days after birth in March 2026.
Brooke's waters unexpectedly broke at 23 weeks, and the boys were born just three minutes apart, at around 8.15pm and 8.18pm, only six hours later. The couple spent three days with their sons as they received specialist neonatal care, but the boys were cared for in separate rooms, forcing Brooke and Tom to divide their time between them.
Separation during care
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News as part of its 2026 Christmas Appeal, Brooke described the moment her waters broke shortly after she had finished leading a choir rehearsal. Despite being terrified, she initially struggled to accept what was happening.
"I was in a lot of panic and I was really scared, but I was in a lot of denial as well," she said. "I kept thinking, I'm not in any pain. All I could think was I'm not in any pain, so that must mean it's all going to be fine because I don't feel any pain. I just kept repeating that."
At the hospital, doctors discovered that one of the sacs surrounding the twins had ruptured, and Brooke was later told she was already in active labour. Marcus, who was born first, was particularly unwell, while James was initially stable. Brooke found herself prioritising time with Marcus but felt guilty when with James.
Guided by staff
Brooke said she never questioned the decisions made by the hospital team, trusting that if the boys could have been cared for together, staff would have made that possible. She praised the care and compassion shown by the neonatal team, who encouraged the couple to rest and reassured them they would be woken if anything changed.
Marcus died the afternoon after the boys were born, while Brooke was holding him. James died the following day, and Brooke was given the opportunity to hold him and have skin-to-skin time. Staff gently guided her through these moments, encouraging her to make memories with her babies.
"I sort of didn't know what to ask for. I didn't know what I could do because I didn't want to hurt them. They were so small," she said. "They were great at just sort of guiding me when I couldn't think straight."
Fundraising for a lasting legacy
The support continued after the family left hospital, with bereavement midwives calling regularly to check on Brooke. She described the care at Saint Mary's as "amazing", adding: "I wouldn't change anything. They were brilliant."
The experience inspired Brooke and Tom to fundraise for the Twin Pod system, which aims to help premature and critically ill twins travel together when clinically appropriate. Brooke said she had wanted to support other families of twins, and the idea of the specialist transport equipment made everything fall into place.
"I just thought, that's it. That's what we need to do," she said. "If we can prevent that with some families and have the twins together as much as they physically can be, we just felt so good about that."
Fundraising began with donations at the boys' funeral, with the couple asking for contributions instead of flowers. Choirs have held performances, and Brooke organised activities during Baby Loss Awareness Week, including raffles, a bake-off, quizzes and funfair-style games. A larger event was held at her church, and Tom is considering organising a charity football match, while Brooke hopes to take on a marathon in the new year.
Brooke also hopes sharing her family's experience will help break down the stigma surrounding baby loss, urging people not to avoid the topic. "I'm really desperate to raise awareness and talk about it and not be scared to talk about it," she said.
She added: "The donations mean that it gets us one step closer to achieving the goal, which is to save families the stress of going through the separation of the babies. It's helping babies stay together during an already horrible, traumatic time."
