Woman gives birth to quintuplets in normal delivery

LAHORE: A woman gave birth to quintuplets - three baby boys and two girls - in her maiden conception after a successful normal delivery at Lady Aitchison Hospital at 12am between the night of Tuesday and Wednesday.

The extraordinary incident of birth of five children in a single pregnancy through prompt medical response at Lady Aitchison Hospital on Wednesday was in stark contrast to an inhuman treatment meted out to a pregnant woman by the administration and gynaecologist of another public health facility as the woman gave birth to a child on a road in front of THQ Hospital, Raiwind, only a day before the latest happening in a highly professional manner.

Komal Shahzad, 22, married for three years to Shahzad Ahmad, a resident of Sharaqpur, was blessed with three boys and two girls during a three-week premature delivery as the pains started earlier than expected.

The family was all smiles after receiving the blissful surprise of their lives. The parents thanked Allah and expressed gratitude for bestowing them with healthy children.Medical Superintendent Dr Samina Naseer said that the mother and children were stable and directed the doctors and nursing staff to provide them with best medical facilities.

She informed that the hospital administration had been providing special care to the mother and her children. “The mother is shifted in private room, while the children are kept in the nursery for their special care,” she said, adding that the entire treatment and medicines besides a private room were provided to the mother and children free of cost.

Dr Samina Naseer said that all the five children were weighing between 1.2 to 1.3 kg with perfect height and were doing fine, while the mother was in a stable condition. Komal Shahzad, W/o Shahzad Ahmad, was already registered with Lady Aitchison Hospital for routine examination during the pregnancy, but was brought to hospital on Tuesday evening at least three weeks earlier than the date for regular delivery time due to start of pains. Instead of going for a C-section operation, Dr Samina said, the team of doctors waited for over five hours to eventually conduct a normal delivery successfully.

She said that four children were absolutely stable and were kept in incubators, whereas, the one child was having a bit high breathing rate and, therefore, a heating tray was placed under the child’s bed. “The suckling reflexes of the babies are perfectly alright and the doctors were giving mother feed to all children after extracting the mother’s milk in a feeder,” she said, adding that the doctors strictly discouraged the formula milk.

Dr Samina said that the woman delivered five babies with two placentas as umbilical cords of three babies were attached with one placenta and two babies’ were attached with the other placenta. “The mother was able to bear high blood pressure due to excessive bleeding leading to swelling in her feet as she was quite healthy,” she said, adding that she was soon shifted from the labour room to a private room for proper care. Dr Samina said that the mother and the newborns would be kept under observation for a few days before discharging them.

The couple said that they were very happy over the birth of five children. Initially, they said, they were stunned to learn about the conception of five children but gradually came to terms with the reality.

They thanked the doctors and hospital administration for providing best treatment to the mother and newborns. The delightful couple also distributed sweets among the family and hospital staff.

The father of the newborns said now the biggest challenge for them was to sustain the children as they had meagre income. The family appealed to Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif to support them for upbringing the children as they didn’t have the means for rearing them in a proper way.