While twin births rose 72% from 1980 to 2018, they remain uncommon—only about 33 in 1,000. Identical twins are even rarer, at 3 to 4 per 1,000.
So when 23-year-old Savannah Combs learned she was expecting identical twins, she was thrilled. Then came even rarer news: both babies had Down syndrome.
Savannah and her husband, Justin Ackerman, knew their daughters might face judgment, but Savannah saw them as “little gems.”
Despite being urged to terminate the pregnancy, Savannah chose to give her babies a chance. Born at 29 weeks on May 12, 2021, Kennadi Rue and Mckenli Ackerman spent weeks in the NICU.
The twins are “mo-di,” meaning they had separate sacs but shared a placenta—rare on its own. Adding Down syndrome makes their case about 1 in 2 million.
Savannah, from Middleburg, Florida, documents their journey on TikTok, where their resilience has inspired thousands.
“They have feelings, a heartbeat, and can do everything others do—just at their own pace,” she said.
Despite criticism online, Savannah defends her daughters fiercely: “Good thing they weren’t born to you—they were born to me. God knew what He was doing.”
While the chances of giving birth to twins increased 72 percent between 1980 and 2018, it’s still pretty rare. About 33 out of every 1,000 births are twins.
And what are the chances of identical twins? Approximately every three or four births out of every 1,000 are identical twins. So again, relatively rare.
When 23-year-old Savannah Combs found out she was pregnant with twins, she was thrilled. And then she learned another rarity, they both had Down syndrome.
Of course, it was emotional news. Savannah and her husband, Justin Ackerman, knew that some people would judge her and her babies because of their condition.
But to Savannah, that’s what makes them incredibly precious.
“It’s very rare what they have, but they’ve been my little gems,” she told News4JAX.
Savannah, who is from Middleburg, Florida, shared her post-pregnancy journey with her daughters Kennadi Rue and Mckenli Ackerman, on TikTok where they quickly gained a following.
In one of her videos, Savannah said she was told to abort her babies because they would not make it.
She decided to keep them and give them a fighting chance. ”Every [prenatal] appointment they were alive was a blessing to me,” Savannah explained.
When she learned they both had Down syndrome, her husband was away at boot camp. Savannah was 29 weeks pregnant when she was admitted to the hospital, and delivered her daughters. The identical twin girls, Kennadi Rue and Mckenli Ackerman, were born on May 12, 2021.
