Posted on 08/16/2007 4:38:51 PM PDT by decimon
HELENA, Mont. - A 35-year-old Canadian woman has given birth to rare identical quadruplets, officials at a Great Falls hospital said Thursday.
Karen Jepp of Calgary, Alberta, delivered Autumn, Brooke, Calissa and Dahlia by Caesarian section Sunday afternoon at Benefis Healthcare, said Amy Astin, the hospital's director of community and government relations.
The four girls were breathing without ventilators and listed in good condition Thursday, she said.
"These babies are doing grand," said Dr. Tom Key of Great Falls, the perinatologist who delivered the girls.
The babies were born about two months early and were conceived without fertility drugs, he said. They weighed between 2.6 pounds and 2.15 pounds.
Jepp and her husband, J.P., declined to be interviewed by The Associated Press.
"The parents have been a little bit shy about the press. ... We agreed to handle it in a way they were comfortable with," Astin said.
The couple have a 2-year-old son, Simon. J.P. Jepp works for Shell Oil Co., and both worked for nonprofit groups until recently, Astin said.
The chances of giving birth to identical quadruplets is about one in 13 million, Key said.
"This is a very big medical event," he said. "Identical quadruplets are extremely rare."
Medical literature indicates there are less than 50 sets of identical quadruplets, said Dr. Jamie Grifo, director of the NYU Fertility Center in New York.
The last reported set were born in April 2006 to a 26-year-old Indian woman.
The Jepps drove 325 miles to Great Falls for the births because hospitals in Calgary were at capacity, Key said.
"The difficulty is that Calgary continues to grow at such a rapid rate. ... The population has increased a lot faster than the number of hospital beds," he said.
Two of the girls were to be transferred to a Calgary hospital later Thursday. The other two could be moved Friday if their conditions remain favorable, Key said.
They will likely remain hospitalized for four to six weeks, he said.
"These quads are special," Astin said. "The fact that she carried them 31 weeks and three days is excellent."
I'm confused. Since when has Montana seceded to Canada?
Why would a Canadian use the US medical services when their medical care is FREE
Two minutes and 49 seconds for an immigration thread hijack...
The parents will be anchored alright but I don't think the Jepps are immigrants.
That's all I need to know about the Canadian health system.
Giving birth in Great Falls, Montana?
Giving birth by cesarean(?), she would need an appointment, no?
What was wrong with the Canadian Medical system ??
J.P. Jepp? Whatever those initials stand for must be really bad!
According to the article, the Calgary hospitals were full due to population growth. Combine that with Jepp's working for Shell Oil and I'm thinking of the tar sands boom.
Wow! What is it with these Canadian women? The Dionne quints were identical, too. They certainly looked like it. Hope the mother is doing well. Great Falls is a nice town. I lived there for several years when a child.
4 posted on 08/16/2007 4:44:44 PM PDT by null and void
on a quadruplets thread...
Maybe he's J.P. Jepp Junior.
Rare or not, I knew a set of identical quads in California some years back.
she would not need an appointment if the situation with the babies became critical. Since this was a pre-term delivery this almost certainly was not the scheduled delivery time.
LOL!
There's a six months waiting list for Canadian cesareans, eh?
You’re scaring me, cut it out :P
Hot rod culture.
This being an extremely high-risk pregnancy requiring a scheduled C-section, and the Canadian health care system can’t manage to reserve space for her in her local hospital, is simply amazing. I wonder how much has been taken from their paychecks to fund this wonderful ‘free’ health care.
Why four?
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