Test-tube twins mark milestone (From York Press)

One of the country’s first sets of test-tube twins, Hayley and Sophie Milner, celebrate their 18th birthdays

11:30am Wednesday 29th October 2008 in News By Press reporter

THESE teenage twins have an extra special reason to celebrate.

Hayley and her sister, Sophie, are all set to celebrate their 18th birthdays on November 1, and this milestone will be even more memorable because they are one of the country’s first sets of test-tube twins.

The girls, of Millside, Norton, are both currently at York College, Hayley studying for A-levels in psychology, English and PE, while Sophie is taking a National Diploma in sport and exercise ecience.

They say they are proud to be test-tube twins because their parents had been receiving various fertility treatments, but the twins were born after their first attempt at IVF.

Hayley said: “We feel very privileged. Mum and dad had fertility treatment for more than ten years before we arrived.”

Hayley and Sophie both attended Norton County Primary School, and later Norton College secondary school, and are now planning on university careers. However, they want to go on to different campuses, an idea which is supported by their mother, Andrea.

She says she has always encouraged the twins to have their own groups of friends, and was glad when they were put into different classes at school, as this allowed them to develop independently.

“Twins are always compared to one another, so being in separate classes helped to relieve this pressure. It also meant that they weren’t together for 24 hours a day, and I think this has helped their relationship,” she said.

“We are close sisters, but we each have our own circle of friends,” said Hayley.

But she added as the twins were not identical they hadn’t had problems with confused boyfriends.

Sophie is intending to take a degree in sport and development, and Hayley plans to study psychology.

Meanwhile, in their spare time the twins work as waitresses at The Old Lodge Hotel in Malton.

They will be having a double birthday celebration – one a night out with 16 friends in York, followed by a family party.

IVF, or In-Vitro Fertilization, is a highly successful assisted reproductive technology.

It refers to the process by which a woman’s eggs are fertilized in the laboratory, and the embryo then replanted into the womb.

Multiple births are a likely result of IVF, due to the transferring of multiple embryos, and non-identical twins or triplets often result.