A woman was left in “utter shock” after she fell pregnant with twins after a one-night stand despite taking the morning-after pill.
Holly Firth, 29, from Scotland, was celebrating her pal’s nuptials when she slept with another guest on July 9, 2024. The bank worker said she “thought nothing more of it” after she went and got the emergency contraceptive the next day.
But after becoming extremely sensitive to smell and feeling sick from the scent of air freshener, she decided to take a pregnancy test two weeks later. To her surprise, it was positive and a six-week scan showed she had one child on the way.
However, when she attended her eight-week scan, she was told that she was actually expecting twins. The single mum later discovered that because she had already ovulated before taking the morning-after pill, it often becomes ineffective.
Her twin girls, Charlotte and Rose, were born via planned c-section on February 27, 2025. Holly believes the pregnancy was “meant to be” and now “can’t imagine her life without the twins”.
She is raising the identical twins as a single mum, and says that while the twins’ father has chosen to have no involvement, the “door will always be open” if he wants to reach out in the future.
Holly from Ayrshire said: “When I found out I was pregnant I burst into tears. It was just utter shock. I went for a scan at six weeks and the picture showed just one baby. I went back two weeks later and that’s when I found out there were twins. Obviously, that came as a shock – I was single and I didn’t know the guy.
“I remember going out for dinner that night with my mum and dad and saying to them that it meant double the love. I knew from then that it was meant to be.”
Holly added: “I’ve taken the morning-after pill for other reasons in the past and it’s never failed me before, so I thought it would be absolutely fine.
“I’ve since found out however that it doesn’t work if you’ve already ovulated, which they didn’t tell me when I went to get it. My period was actually due the day after the wedding so I had definitely already ovulated and I think that’s why it didn’t work.”
The identical twins were born five weeks early via planned c-section on February 27, Charlotte Firth weighing 4lb 12oz and Rose Firth weighing 4lb 8oz. Holly said: “I wasn’t planning to get pregnant – I’d been single for four years. I’d been single for so long that I genuinely didn’t think that I was going to have kids.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way – regardless of if it was from a one night stand or from a relationship – I’ve got the girls and I wouldn’t have them if it didn’t happen. I remember seeing them for the first time and feeling such an amount of love that I’d never felt before in my entire life. I can’t imagine my life without them now. We’re going to be the three musketeers for the rest of our lives.
“I have said to the dad that the door will always be open for him, if he ever wants it. He hasn’t used it yet, but if the girls ever want to reach out there will be ways of doing that. If that’s what they want then as long as they’re happy, I’m happy.”
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