wow.....amazingly a Octuplets....that is the way to increase
S'pore population......
Today we had an unprecedented, very exciting day in our
operating room and labor delivery where our team of 46 physicians,
nurses, respiratory therapists as well as surgical techs delivered
eight babies, all live born," Dr. Karen Maples said at the Kaiser
Permanente hospital. "It was a truly, truly amazing delivery. The
babies are currently in stable condition."
The octuplets born to a mother
in Southern California are doing "very, very well" and breathing on
their own, one of their doctors said Tuesday.
Dr. Mandhir Gupta, a neonatologist at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower
Medical Center, says the eight babies were in stable
condition.
Two of the newborns -- the second live octuplets born in U.S.
history -- were initially put on ventilators, but their breathing
tubes have been removed.
"Only three babies need some sort of oxygen through the nose right
now but they are breathing on their own," Gupta said. "The babies
are doing actually very, very well."
The mother, who was not identified, gave birth Monday to the six
boys and two girls weighing between 1 pound, 8 ounces, and 3
pounds, 4 ounces. The eighth baby was a surprise to the parents and
doctors who had been expecting only seven children.
"It is quite easy to miss a baby when you're anticipating seven,"
said Dr. Harold Henry, chief of maternal and fetal medicine and one
of 46 doctors, nurses and assistants who delivered the children by
Caesarean section.
Just five minutes after the first birth, the unexpected eighth baby
came out at 10:48 a.m. "My eyes were wide," said Dr. Karen Maples,
chief of the department of obstetrics and gynecology.
Maples said the mother was "very comfortable now. She is currently
stable and we're observing her. She's also very excited about the
health of her babies and she's extremely happy."
Doctors said they repeatedly conducted practice sessions in
anticipation of the deliveries and were well prepared. Maples
credited that with the ability to handle the unexpected eighth
baby. "It was wonderful just knowing that our teamwork paid off,"
she said.
The babies -- dubbed with the letters A-through-H -- will probably
remain in the hospital for at least two months and the mother
should be released in a week, said Maples. The most encouraging
news was that the smallest -- Baby E, a boy weighing just 1 pound,
8 ounces -- no longer needed a ventilator. Gupta described him as
"very feisty" on Tuesday.
The doctors cautioned that there is still the possibility that one
or more of the octuplets may need a breathing tube again, and more
dangers await when they begin feeding.
The mother checked into the hospital in her 23rd week of pregnancy
and gave birth to the premature babies seven weeks later. Gupta
said the woman was given spinal anesthesia and could hear the
babies as they came out.
The world's first live octuplets were born in March 1967 in Mexico
City, but all died within 14 hours, according to Encyclopedia
Britannica.
The United States' first live octuplets were born in Houston in
1998, three months premature. The tiniest died a week after the
birth. The surviving siblings turned 10 in December
