It has been all over the news this week, on Monday January, 26th a California woman gave birth to octuplets via cesarean section.  The babies are only the second live-born octuplets in the United States.

The six boys and two girls are doing remarkably well for high-order multiples.  The babies were born 9 weeks premature with weights ranging from 1 pound 8 ounces to 3 pounds 4 ounces.   As with any multiple birth these premature babies face many obstacles as they begin life outside the womb.  They will spend several weeks in the hospital and face challenges including developmental difficulties, breathing problems, eating difficulties and much more.  Although doctors have stated they are doing very well and all the babies were breathing on their own they are by no means out of the woods yet.

The arrival of this latest set of high-order multiples has renewed the debate regarding what responsibility fertility specialists have in trying to prevent the incidents of these risky, high-order multiples.  Being pregnant with high-order multiples puts the mother at significantly increased risk of developing dangerous complications during her pregnancy.  Not to mention the risk to the babies both during gestation and for many years after birth.

With the increased utilization of fertility treatments in this country the incidents of multiples is also increasing.  While most remain twins it is becoming more and more common to hear about higher-order multiples.  There are strict guidelines published by the American Academy of Obstetrics and Gynecology regarding how many embryos should be implanted during invetro fertilization and most fertility clinics follow these guidelines.  However, when ovulation stimulation is used as a fertility treatment it is increasing difficult to limit the number of embryos that implant.  It is up to the doctor to educate their patients about the risks involved with high-order multiple pregnancies and what steps can be taken to help reduce the risk of the pregnancy resulting in 3 or more babies.

My thoughts are with all 8 of those tiny babies and I hope each of them does wonderfully and is home with mommy and daddy soon.