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 A
young couple, Martha and Mike have one child. They both decided
it was time for their little boy to have a sister or brother.
Martha had some previous problems with uterine infections
and was under antibiotic therapy. This seemed
to affect her uterus and the ovary physiology some how. But
they still want to have a baby!! Fertility hormones
were prescribed for Martha by an endocrinologist, who assured
them that she will have no chance of multiple births.
Luckily, Martha became
pregnant and has had a very normal pregnancy for the the first
four months. Mike was very eager to know more about this pregnancy
and convinced his wife to have a sonogram. The good
shocking news was that she is pregnant with triplets.
Martha was given all the medical advice and precautions
about the possible complications of this type of pregnancy.
On the 23rd week of the gestation,
Martha started to dilate and knew she was in the
early stage of labor. She was rushed to the Emergency Room
and was put under some medications to delay the labor, but
two days later she began the second stage of labor.
Soon after the first baby was delivered. Her medications
were increased, but two days later the second baby was delivered.
A day after the third baby was delivered.
Each of the babies weighed
approximately 500 grams and had to be rushed to the Neonate
Intensive Care Unit. The babies were
given oxygen and food through naso-tracheal and naso-gastric
tubes respectively.
The first child, a boy, died suddenly
during the first week. No clear symptoms of any infection
could be detected.
The second child, a girl, had the following
complications described by the attending neonatologist:
a- Chronic lung disability and has to depend
on Oxygen supplement
b- Interventricular Hemorrhage which later cause bulging of
the fontanel and increasing the head circumference.
c- Sepsis
d- Patent Ductus Arteriosis.
e- Cardiac vegetation.
The third child, a boy,
had the following complications:
a- Respiratory distress of prematurity.
b- Brochopulmonary dysplasia and has to depend on oxygen supplement.
c- Patent Ductus arteriosis.
d- Cardiac vegetation.
e- Sepsis.
The most serious complications that the children exhibited
were:
a- Lung Congestion, which led to low
oxygen saturation.
b- Kidney malfunction, which resulted in very low urine volume.
c- Ventricular enlargement.
d- Anemia and Transient Thrombocytopenia which
required a series of blood and platlets transfusion.
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