Is it possible to give birth to quadruplets naturally

However, when she and her husband, David Gutierrez, went to the doctor to confirm her pregnancy, they received an unexpected surprise. Two minutes later, he said there was a fourth. I was speechless. The couple conceived quadruplets naturally, an extremely rare occurrence that happens in just 1 in , pregnancies. Approximately 90 percent of quadruplets are conceived with the assistance of medical technology.

Ivanna, 27, turned to Salih Yasin, M. The pregnancy was going smoothly and Ivanna was feeling great when she went in for her 27 week check-up. Danielle and Joseph are holding their daughter Lyla after she was born. Lyla is easy for them to recognize because she has golden hair while her sisters all have darker hair.

Baby D, who is now called Arya, was also getting a lower blood chord flow than the other babies. This provides oxygen and nutrients from the mother to the baby, so it was imperative to deliver to make sure all the children remained healthy. Baby A, named Zoey Cheyenne after Danielle's deceased sister, was born at 2lbs and 2oz as the smallest of her siblings.

The hiding baby was Baby B and the couple named her Lyla Mae, which they came up with in the car on the way home from finding out they were having quadruplets. Baby C was named Maya Jo after her father and was born weighing 2bs and 4oz. She weighed in at 2lbs and 2. The couple stuck with a trend of having each girl have four letters in their name because they are quadruplets and they wanted them to have short names.

The doctors were all pleased that the babies all weighed so much considering they were born premature. Their actual due date was supposed to be November Lyla, Arya and Zoey have done extremely well with gaining weight since they were first born, but Maya has been having more trouble. Arya Grace was born at 2lbs and 2. She is named after the character Arya in Game of Thrones because Danielle is a big fan of the show. Lyla Mae was the fourth baby that was hidden during the ultrasound the first and second ultrasound.

She was born weighing 2lbs and 6. She is gaining weight but has developed a heart murmur and can't always breathe on her own. A heart murmur is when an extra sound is made in the heart as the blood is traveling through it.

Depending on the murmur, it can cause no problems at all for the baby. But other murmurs could lead to severe problems with the valves or walls of the heart. Doctors are monitoring Maya closely to make sure it doesn't develop into something more serious. All four babies are expected to stay in the hospital at least until the end of October because doctors need them to reach a certain stage of development before they feel comfortable releasing them.

Danielle explained that the doctors are looking for each baby to weigh 4. This test involves the infant having to sit in a car seat for 90 to minutes while a nurse monitors their breathing, heart rate and oxygen levels. Weight also plays a large factor in the car seat test because their isn't one small enough to handle a child that weighs less than 4lbs. Until then, Danielle is traveling 30 minutes to the Community Hospital North in Indianapolis, Indiana, every day to be with her daughters while Joseph goes to work.

She has been feeding them with her breast milk because doctors think that is the best way to give the children nutrients to help with growth. The couple has been together for three years and was originally going to get married, but those plans have been put on hold. Financial problems have occurred because they currently live in a one bedroom apartment and do not have a car large enough to fit all four car seats.

Maya Jo was born weighing 2lbs and 4oz. She is named after her father Joseph. Maya is the quadruplet that has had the most difficulty because she developed a heart murmur and occasionally has trouble breathing on her own. Zoey Cheyenne was the smallest weighing at 2lbs and 2oz when she was born. She is named after Danielle's sister who died when she was only But Joseph is the only one that can go to work because daycare is too expensive for them to both to be at work. One of Danielle's friends reached out to the apartment complex they live in to see if the building could help them pay for a two-bedroom instead of a one, but they have had no luck so far for that to happen.

A GoFundMe page was created to help raise money for the price of hospital bills and other necessities for the quadruplets. The couple is focused right now, though, on keeping their girls healthy and getting them out of the hospital. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Maternal height and weight. Non-identical twins are more common in large and tall women than in small women.

This may be related more to nutrition than to body size alone. During World War II, the incidence of non-identical twinning decreased in Europe when food was not readily available.

Fertility Drugs and Assisted Reproductive Technology. Multiple pregnancy is more common in women who utilize fertility medications to undergo ovulation induction or superovulation. Use of drugs to cause superovulation has caused the vast majority of the increase in the multiples.

Assisted reproductive technology ART procedures such as in vitro fertilization IVF also contribute to the increase in the multiple birth rate. The risk of multiple pregnancy increases as the number of embryos transferred increases. The duration of a normal singleton pregnancy ranges from 37 weeks to 42 weeks from the time of the last menstrual period. Twin pregnancies occasionally progress to 40 weeks but almost always deliver early. As the number of fetuses increases, the expected duration of the pregnancy decreases.

The average duration is 35 weeks for twins, 33 weeks for triplets, and 30 weeks for quadruplets. Complications increase with each additional fetus in a multiple pregnancy and include many medical issues that will be discussed below. In addition to these, there is a higher incidence of severe nausea and vomiting, cesarean section, or forceps delivery.

If you are pregnant with twins or more, or if you are at risk for a multiple pregnancy, you should be aware of these and other potential problems you might experience.

Preterm labor and birth pose the greatest risk to a multiple pregnancy. Cesarean section is often needed for twin pregnancies and is expected for delivery of triplets. Since preterm labor and birth present such serious risks, the pregnant mother must understand the warning signs of early labor. Sometimes, preterm delivery can be delayed by a few days or more if it is detected early. Each day gained provides valuable fetal growth and development.

Once a woman is in advanced labor, delivery cannot be stopped. In rare instances, delivery of a second twin can be delayed. This delay, when possible, allows for continued growth in the protective environment of the uterus. Currently, there are no effective treatments to prevent preterm birth of multiples. The placenta is attached to the wall of the uterus, and the fetus is attached to the placenta by the umbilical cord.

The placenta provides blood, oxygen, and nutrition to the fetus through the umbilical cord. Placental function is more likely to be abnormal in a multiple pregnancy. If the placenta is unable to provide adequate oxygen or nutrients to the fetus, the fetus cannot grow properly. The placenta ages prematurely and may slow fetal growth, especially late in the third trimester.

Another placental problem is twin-twin transfusion, a life-threatening condition in identical twins. This transfusion occurs when blood flows from one fetus to the other through a connection in a shared placenta. Therapeutic amniocentesis and laser coagulation of blood vessels that link circulation to the twins in the placenta s may reduce complications of twin-twin transfusion. Preeclampsia, also known as toxemia, occurs 2 to 5 times more often in multiple pregnancies.

The condition may progress and threaten the health of the mother and baby. When severe, the mother may have seizures, and stroke or other life-threatening complications are possible. Women with multiple pregnancies are more likely to develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy.

Babies of diabetic mothers are more likely to experience respiratory distress and other newborn complications. However, gestational diabetes is common even in singleton pregnancies, and treatment is well established and effective.

Preterm delivery places an infant at increased risk for severe complications or early death. Prematurity also may result in visual impairment or blindness. Neonatal intensive care unit admission is required for one-fourth of twin and three-fourths of triplet deliveries. Despite these numbers, it is important to note that the vast majority of multiple-birth infants do survive. Fetal death occurs in about 1. Furthermore, compared to singleton pregnancies of the same birth weight, there is no significant increase in the incidence of chronic lung disease or brain, eye, or gastrointestinal problems in multiple-birth infants.

Low birth weight of less than 5. The average birth weight is approximately 4 lb. As a result of prematurity, the risk for cerebral palsy is 4 times more likely to occur in twins. The rates are even greater for triplets and high-order multiple births.

Birth weight also corresponds closely to the severity of disability throughout the childhood years. As noted above, the average birth weight even for quadruplets is well above this number. Prevention during infertility treatment is the best approach to avoiding a multiple pregnancy.

In ART cycles, limiting the number of embryos transferred is an effective approach. Consult the ASRM Practice Committee Report titled Guidelines on Number of Embryos Transferred for recommendations regarding the optimal number of embryos to transfer based on patient age, embryo quality, and other criteria.

In the United States, physicians and patients jointly decide how many embryos to transfer. However, in England, no more than two embryos may be transferred in most cases.

In Canada, a maximum of three embryos are recommended for transfer. The ultimate goal of ART is to achieve a high pregnancy rate while transferring a single embryo. While physicians can transfer two embryos and still maintain acceptable pregnancy rates, the transfer of one embryo is associated with good pregnancy rates in certain patient groups, thereby resolving the problem of multiple pregnancies caused by multiple embryo transfer. Multiple pregnancies are a known complication of ovulation stimulation drugs.

Most physicians monitor patients with ultrasound examinations and blood tests. A woman with a large number of ovarian follicles or high hormone levels has an increased risk of a multiple pregnancy, and the cycle may be canceled to avoid the risk. No proven way of reducing multiple pregnancies with superovulation has been identified, although preventing fertilization with development of more than three follicles is helpful in reducing high-order multiples.

When a triplet or high-order multiple pregnancy occurs, multifetal pregnancy reduction may be considered to improve the chance for survival of the fetuses.

While multifetal pregnancy reduction carries some risk of a complete miscarriage, it also reduces the chances of extreme premature birth. In order to achieve the best outcome with a multiple pregnancy, the expectant mother must work as part of the health care team. A nearly total change in lifestyle can be expected, especially after about 20 weeks into the pregnancy. There is an increased need for maternal nutrition in multiple pregnancies.

An expectant mother needs to gain more weight in a multiple pregnancy, especially if she begins the pregnancy underweight. With multiples, weight gain of approximately lb.

The pattern of weight gain is important too. Healthy birth weights are most likely achieved when the mother gains nearly one pound per week in the first 20 weeks. The increase in fetal growth with appropriate nutrition and weight gain may greatly improve pregnancy outcome at a minimum of cost. Many physicians who manage multiple pregnancies believe that a reduction in activities and increased rest prolongs these pregnancies and improves outcomes.

However, routine hospitalization for bed rest in multiple pregnancy has not been shown to prevent preterm birth.