Rare phenomenon: Emirati woman delivers quadruplets at a Sharjah hospital
Quadruplets are a rare phenomenon that occur 1 in 700,000 deliveries, says doctors
Sharjah: An Emirati mother is overjoyed after she gave birth to four boys at Zulekha Hospital in Sharjah.
The 29-year-old Emirati woman and her husband, who live in Ajman, were thrilled to receive new members to the family after a prolonged wait.
The family was gifted four times the joy when she gave birth to the quadruplets, the hospital confirmed on Sunday.
Quadruplets are a rare phenomenon that occur 1 in 700,000 deliveries — and the average length of gestation at birth is 29 weeks. This is the first such case in Zulekha Hospital, Sharjah since its inception in 1992.
The babies, all boys, were delivered on October 28, 2019 at 28 weeks of pregnancy with extreme caution following an hour-long Caesarean operation.
They weighed 0.83 kg, 0.86 kg, 1.1 kg and 1.05 kg respectively.
All the four babies and mother are doing well, said the hospital.
Discharged
The babies were discharged when they were around 36 weeks corrected gestation and all have crossed 2 kg weight mark.
Though the delivery took place on October 28,2019, the news was released on Sunday after they were discharged from the hospital last week in good health.
The hospital did not reveal the name of the parent and also did not release photos as the family did not give consent.
Dr Pooja Mohan Jaisal, Specialist Gynecologist, said the woman faced extreme discomfort and shortness of breath due to pushing of diaphragm by an extremely large and distended uterus.
"She was admitted for management of this condition in the previous hospital she visited and was discharged after bleeding was momentarily controlled. However, she needed early delivery as the antepartum hemorrhage could have been life threatening to the fetuses," said Dr Mohan.
“I was in intense pain and was advised to expedite my delivery after minimising the risks, so I decided to come to Zulekha Hospital Sharjah. The reputation of Zulekha Hospital, expert doctors and availability of Level III NICU services helped me with the decision,” added the new mother.
Dr. Sujay Narayanarao, Consultant Neonatologist commented: “All babies faced challenges related to lung immaturity at the time of birth and required CPAP (Continuous positive airway pressure) respiratory support at birth. Three of them also received surfactant after birth to help with the maturity of the lungs. Total parenteral nutrition was administered to all of them for weight gain and balanced nutrition.”
Routine head ultrasound scan and eye evaluation were normal for all the babies and they are doing neurologically well at present. The neonatal team at Zulekha Hospital is expecting a good neurodevelopmental outcome for all of them.