"I felt helpless." Tania Zaetta on the heartache of seeing her newborn twins in special care.

Tania Zaetta considers the birth of her twins last year nothing short of a miracle.

The former Who Dares Wins TV personality is one of the thousands of Australian mums who struggle with fertility issues, having tried unsuccessfully for years to conceive naturally with her partner Chris Rogers.

Eventually, they sought an overseas clinic to try their luck with IVF.

The facts on fertility. Post continues after video.

“Both eggs took on the first IVF treatment, and I fully realise how fortunate I am to have it happen on my first attempt,” Tania, 49, tells Woman’s Day. 

Her babies – Alby and Kenzie – were born last September, but her pregnancy journey certainly wasn’t a smooth ride.

“I’m now one of those women who say it’s a life-changing moment, because it is, and seeing my babies in the special care nursery with cords and wires attached to them and tubes down their noses… I’ve never felt so helpless,” she tells the publication.

Alby and Kenzie were born three and a half weeks early, after a challenging final month of pregnancy which saw Tania hospitalised with pre-eclampsia, and struggling to walk or breathe easily.

Doctors eventually decided, given the severity of her condition, Tania should give birth early to protect herself and the twins.

“For the first few days I was the only one able to pick them up, and then only once a day,” she says.

“I could also put my hand in the incubators and stroke them. It’s just this feeling of such intense love. Life changed forever for the better.”

Sharing the birth to her Instagram last year, the actress told followers:

“Chris & I are over the moon to share the safe arrival of our handsome little boy Alby Zeke Rogers 1.5kg & beautiful baby girl Kenzie Louise Rogers 1.6kg at 9.45am Wed 5th Sept. Mum, bubs & Dad all doing great.

“Bubs are breathtakingly adorable & having arrived a few weeks early & being divinely tiny will spend some time in their little hospital isolettes for safe monitoring before we can all go home.”

 

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???????? BABY NEWS ???????? Chris (@thebigchis )& I are over the moon to share the safe arrival of our handsome little boy Alby Zeke Rogers 1.5kg & beautiful baby girl Kenzie Louise Rogers 1.6kg at 9.45am Wed 5th Sept. Mum, bubs & Dad all doing great ???? We decided to delay sharing this very exciting news a few days to give us some precious alone time with our twins. Bubs are breathtakingly adorable & having arrived a few weeks early & being divinely tiny will spend some time in their little hospital isolettes for safe monitoring before we can all go home. Thanks everyone for your love & support & for sharing this incredible journey with us! We did it! ???????? Special thanks also to Dr Dennis Price for the safe delivery of our bubs & all the special care in the lead up as well Dr Simon Costello for looking after the twins now they’re in the world with us, & of course the incredible team of nurses & midwives at @cabrinihealth hospital. Let the twin fun begin forever ???????? #twins #babies #pregnant #34weeks

A post shared by taniazaetta (@taniazaetta) on Sep 8, 2018 at 10:26pm PDT

But while watching her twins in the special care nursery was difficult, the new mum says there was a silver lining. She had the help of midwives to master the art of feeding two babies at once.

“There is definitely a plus side to not bringing them home earlier,” Tania says.

She’s also been inundated with well wishes from complete strangers who say she’s been an inspiration for them to try IVF and explore donors after reading about her challenging pregnancy.

“I’ve had dozens of women approach me in cafes, who tell me my story inspired them to not give up,” Tania says.

“I love being a mum and I love being a twin mum. I can’t imagine anything different now… and I had never changed a nappy or held a newborn until they came along!,” she added.