Mother gives birth to sextuplets

CNN ^ | 1-18-04

[Indy Pendance]

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (AP) -- A woman pregnant with sextuplets has given birth to the five remaining babies more than a week after delivering the first, a hospital official said Saturday.

The four boys and two girls were three months premature.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

The hospital must be huge to have a NICU that can accomodate 79 babies.

It is actually two large hospitals that merged a few years back. It is a very fine hospital and with the new research facility we are hoping to become one of the premier medical centers in the world.

[Texas Termite]

What beautiful little angels :)

We will pray for them... they have a long, hard road ahead of them. Ask me, I know!

Logan, Beth & Nana

[tgslTakoma]

John Paul Van Houten
AKA: Baby A
Born: January 7, 2004 at 5:22am
Weight: 1 pound, 8 ounces
Length: 13" long

Gerrit Calvin Van Houten
AKA: Baby B
Born: January 16, 2004 at 4:37pm
Weight: 1 pound, 12 ounces
Length: 13" long

Samantha Clair Van Houten
AKA: Baby C
Born: January 16, 2004 at 4:37pm
Weight: 1 pound, 6 ounces
Length: 12" long

Nolan Benjamin Van Houten
AKA: Baby D
Born: January 16, 2004 at 5:58pm
Weight: 2 pound, 1 ounces
Length: 13" long

Peyton Scott Van Houten
AKA: Baby E
Born: January 16, 2004 at 11:28pm
Weight: 1 pound, 4 ounces
Length: 13" long

Kennedy Alexis Van Houten
AKA: Baby F
Born: January 17, 2004 at 3:08am
Weight: 1 pound, 5 ounces
Length: 11.75" long

I wonder which one(s) should have been "reduced"?

[Eva]

Fertility drugs at this young age?

[cyborg]

whoah I didn't even pick that up... I wonder what her problem was... I just couldn't risk it myself. If you get pregnant with too many, you have to abort some.

[34512a]

Things like this should definitely be illegal.

[tgslTakoma]

You can learn more about the parents' story through the media links at this site. It looks like fertility drugs were necessary in her case.

The babies are all beautiful, and it looks like the whole family is getting the best of care - medical and spiritual.

[cyborg]

She was infertile but she's only 26? She was trying to get pregnant since 24? To each her own. Are people still interested in adopting at all?

[34512a]

It wasn't necessary at all. It was selfish and foolish. Those kids are three months premature. Look at their birth weights!

It's very likely that they will have all sorts of developmental problems. The whole thing makes me angry. She is really no better than someone who would have just chosen abortion in my mind.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Are people still interested in adopting at all?

Have you tried adopting lately? It costs between $10,000 to $50,000+ and the waiting list can be 3 to 5 years.

If you want a HWI you are talking big bucks and a very long wait.

Yes, you can be infertile at 26. It doesn't go away and if you want kids this kind of treatment is actually one of those things that the younger you have it the better.

[cyborg]

I don't know if I would quite put it that way myself BUT she didn't wait long. What would she have done if they counted eight fetuses? That happens. There are literally MILLIONS of abandoned fertilized eggs. I hate to sound so condemning though. I don't know these people after all.

[cyborg]

Yes if people want to be picky about what kind of baby they adopt, the waiting list can be that long. I'm a single girl with no money so it's highly unlikely I'll adopt. ALTHOUGH... I did almost 'adopt' a friend's frozen embryos. I gather they spent ten times as much with IVF clinics as adoption fees.

26 and now with six babies... I hope she had her fun before she got married!

[tgslTakoma]

I have friends who have adopted from Korea and Romania, because US adoption was more expensive and time consuming (years).

If you will read the news reports on the link that I supplied twice on this thread, you can learn what her medical problem was. It's legit.

[Eva]

That's the point, if you don't believe in abortion this is a very risky option, for the mother and the babies. Not only is it risky, but I would feel like I had given birth to a litter.

[cyborg]

Yes I read it. She is allowed to do whatever she wants. Dunno... I'd adopt. There are enough frozen embryos going to waste, enough babies already here around the world that need loving homes.

[tgslTakoma]

It's very likely that they will have all sorts of developmental problems.

I'm sure her OB told her it was also very likely that she would miscarry them all. She didn't.

I see kids every day who were NICU preemies. Some have developmental problems. Some don't.

P.S. I met one young girl who had weighed 11oz. at birth, the smallest baby born (at the time). She didn't have a single developmental issue, and was a perfectly charming 6 year old and smart as a whip.

I have also seen full term NICU babies with a multitude of troubles. Life is like that.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Even if you aren't picky the waiting list is long. I still work part time in that field and the stories I can tell...

Any child under three years of age is a rarity, a healthy child under three can be placed in a heartbeat. The children you have problem placing are the ones that are ten and over.

[cyborg]

I know a lot of people with adoption horror stories, including my family.

I just hope they (these babies) will be OK.

[34512a]

You can be a charming 6 year old and then find out she has severe learning disability by 12. The mother chose to put these children in such a precarious situation. In no way should she be commended for anything.

[cupcakes]

Born at 24 and 25 weeks gestation, they have a good chance of overcoming their prematurity thanks to new medications and technology, said Joan Rikli, director of neonatal services at DeVos Children's Hospital.
____

This is amazing to me. I am 21 weeks pregnant now and it is so encouraging to know that within a couple of weeks, if things got complicated, my baby would have the chance to live.