A twenty-seven-year-old woman from Hyderabad is all set to embrace very busy motherhood: she gave birth to four healthy babies at once. Of the four babies, three were girl babies, and one was a boy. This is a rare occurrence. It is so rare that only one in five crore women gives birth to four kids or quadruplets at one go, that too via natural conception!
While we have reasons to celebrate now, considering that the mother and her babies are safe, the pregnancy and the delivery didn’t exactly take place without complications. The woman had to take prescribed medications throughout the pregnancy to control her blood pressure, as it was seemingly uncontrollable, with constant fluctuations. It is believed that the woman had also taken fertility enhancement pills before the pregnancy.
Image: India Today
Talking about the cesarean section, the chief gynecologist at Mina Multispecialty Hospital, doctor Shoeba Shukoor, said that the whole surgery lasted for close to three hours. It was in no way an easy feat, and they had to deal with several complications throughout the operation. For one, her blood pressure was extremely high and shot up to around 170/110. In addition to this, she also lost a lot of blood during the procedure, so they had to give her blood during the delivery process while they were performing the surgery. The babies, too, were at risk, as some of them stated to eliminate feces while the operation was going on. When this happens, the babies are at risk of getting choked or getting infected. It can also be harmful to the mother.
After the entire ordeal was over, the mother, her family, and the doctors were delighted because all the babies, weighing somewhere around one kilogram, were hale and hearty!
All About Quadruplet Births
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As we mentioned before, the birth of quadruplets is a rare occurrence, one that is coupled with both joy and a good amount of risks. You can conceive quadruplets naturally or via artificial methods of fertilization (1). For this kind of birth to occur naturally, there has to be one in two scenarios.
The first way a quadruplet birth can happen is if just one fertilized egg from the mother splits into four different embryos. When this is the case, it is known as monozygotic quadruplets. Typically, in the case of monozygotic quadruplets, the children are genetically identical (2), (3).
The second way quadruplet births can occur is if the mother releases four eggs, and each of these four eggs is fertilized by four different sperms. In such cases, the babies will be fraternal quadruplets, which means they won’t be identical (4).
No matter what, monozygotic quadruplets will all belong to the same gender. However, in the case of fraternal quadruplets, the babies can be all male, all female, or a mix of both genders (5).
Quadruplet births often come with a fair share of complications, some of which include hypertension, placental abruption, or even a miscarriage. The doctor must regularly monitor the condition of the mother, as well as the babies. When delivering quadruplets, doctors will most likely take the cesarean section route (6), (7).
On average, a mother expecting quadruplets will have a gestation period of twenty-eight to thirty-one weeks. This is much shorter than a full-term pregnancy, which stands at forty weeks. It is worth noting that mothers who expect four babies at once will easily gain a weight of close to eighteen to forty-five kilograms. Owing to this sudden weight gain, some doctors recommend a cervical cerclage. During this procedure, the cervix is surgically sewn shut to prevent the occurrence of preterm labor. The babies will most likely be underweight and will have to be kept in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for observation. They usually remain there for about a month, during which they are constantly monitored and cared for by the hospital staff (8), (9).
Multiple births, particularly the birth of quadruplets, will surely grab the attention of everyone. It is fascinating because you don’t always come across such news. While it is fascinating for the rest of us, the same can’t be said about the parents. There’s no denying that a lot of factors come into play. For one, there are a lot of health issues that the mother and her babies face. The pregnancy and the delivery are anything but safe, and often, some complications could be life-threatening. The death of one or more babies in a quadruple birth is not uncommon. Secondly, parenthood is challenging to begin with, but when you have four babies (of the same age) in the equation, it is a whole other ballgame all together (10).
It can be overwhelming, particularly in the beginning stages of the babies’ lives, when they need constant care and attention. What helps is to take things one step at a time. There are support groups that connect you to mothers who have had multiple births — their guidance and suggestions can go a long way! What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments below!
