First time mum and dad say quadruplets complete family
Quadruplets are usually a result of fertility treatments, naturally they are very rare.
KARACHI:
At 10:15 on Tuesday morning a young couple from Korangi II Ambreen and Saquib Abdul were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. Eighteen minutes later their joy quadrupled as Ambreen gave birth to two more daughters and a son at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).
“When I first heard I was having quadruplets, I panicked, I didn’t know how we would look after them but now I just pray they are all healthy and well,” an exhausted Ambreen told The Express Tribune lying on a gurney in the gynae ward.
Ambreen, married just a little over 18 months ago, was admitted in the hospital nearly a month back after she developed severe pains in her primary pregnancy. “Quadruplets are usually a result of fertility treatments, naturally they are very rare,” says gynaecologist Dr Azra Ahsan, adding the most common complication in “multiple births” is premature deliveries.
Twenty-five-year-old Ambreen didn’t carry her babies to full term either and was in her eighth month when the doctors said she was ready for a normal delivery Tuesday morning. Even after her deliveries, her legs ached and she continued to feel nauseated but said that she felt she was slowly regaining her strength. “The mother will have to take extra care of herself, especially if she is breast-feeding the children,” Ahsan advised. This means a nutritious diet with lots of protein and a little bit of carbohydrates as well.
The babies, three girls and a boy, who had not been named at the time this report was filed, weighed between 900 grammes and 1.4 kilogrammes. The first born (a girl), the weakest of the four, was put on the ventilator shortly after birth as she was suffering from breathing difficulties. The other three, the doctors said, were normal.
The children’s maternal aunt said that the only twins in their family were Ambreen’s cousins and other than that they had no family history of multiple births on both sides of the family. “Quadruplets without infertility treatment and barely any family history are very rare. About 1 in 5,000,” said Dr Saadia Virk, CEO and consultant gynaecologist at South City Hospital. The mother will need supplements (vitamins and iron) to help regain her strength and should breast-feed the children.
Saquib, 26, was busy shuffling between his children at the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) as his wife recuperated at JPMC. Seeming excited and apprehensive about his children’s well-being, he said, “We have only been married a short while and God has blessed us with four children but our family is complete,” he said adding, “I just want the strength to raise them well and do not want to extend the family.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2010.
At 10:15 on Tuesday morning a young couple from Korangi II Ambreen and Saquib Abdul were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. Eighteen minutes later their joy quadrupled as Ambreen gave birth to two more daughters and a son at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).
“When I first heard I was having quadruplets, I panicked, I didn’t know how we would look after them but now I just pray they are all healthy and well,” an exhausted Ambreen told The Express Tribune lying on a gurney in the gynae ward.
Ambreen, married just a little over 18 months ago, was admitted in the hospital nearly a month back after she developed severe pains in her primary pregnancy. “Quadruplets are usually a result of fertility treatments, naturally they are very rare,” says gynaecologist Dr Azra Ahsan, adding the most common complication in “multiple births” is premature deliveries.
Twenty-five-year-old Ambreen didn’t carry her babies to full term either and was in her eighth month when the doctors said she was ready for a normal delivery Tuesday morning. Even after her deliveries, her legs ached and she continued to feel nauseated but said that she felt she was slowly regaining her strength. “The mother will have to take extra care of herself, especially if she is breast-feeding the children,” Ahsan advised. This means a nutritious diet with lots of protein and a little bit of carbohydrates as well.
The babies, three girls and a boy, who had not been named at the time this report was filed, weighed between 900 grammes and 1.4 kilogrammes. The first born (a girl), the weakest of the four, was put on the ventilator shortly after birth as she was suffering from breathing difficulties. The other three, the doctors said, were normal.
The children’s maternal aunt said that the only twins in their family were Ambreen’s cousins and other than that they had no family history of multiple births on both sides of the family. “Quadruplets without infertility treatment and barely any family history are very rare. About 1 in 5,000,” said Dr Saadia Virk, CEO and consultant gynaecologist at South City Hospital. The mother will need supplements (vitamins and iron) to help regain her strength and should breast-feed the children.
Saquib, 26, was busy shuffling between his children at the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) as his wife recuperated at JPMC. Seeming excited and apprehensive about his children’s well-being, he said, “We have only been married a short while and God has blessed us with four children but our family is complete,” he said adding, “I just want the strength to raise them well and do not want to extend the family.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2010.