Between 1980 and 2018, the likelihood of having twins rose by 72 percent—but even with that increase, it’s still uncommon. Today, only about 33 out of every 1,000 births result in twins.
And when it comes to identical twins? They’re even rarer—only around three to four out of every 1,000 births involve identical siblings.
So when 23-year-old Savannah Combs discovered she was expecting twins, she was overjoyed. But then came even more unexpected news: both babies had Down syndrome—an incredibly rare occurrence.
Naturally, the news was deeply emotional. Savannah and her husband, Justin Ackerman, were aware that not everyone would be accepting. They knew there would be people who judged them and their children based on the diagnosis.