Added: 09/30/2005 |
The How and Why of Sextuplets, Quintuplets, and Other ?Miracle? Multiple BirthsHow does a woman become pregnant with sextuplets?
Though it sounds far-fetched, a pregnancy of quintuplets, and yes, even sextuplets, can occur naturally, but that is extremely rare. Although it is possible, "twinning," as it has been termed, rarely occurs in humans and other primates, and becomes less and less likely the more embryos are in question. Multiple births are not a new technological concept, though. Mankind has tales of twins back to Romulus and Remus. There is a general societal fascination with multiple births that continues to this day. The awe increases exponentially by the number of embryos that remain viable through pregnancy.
More often than not, though, multiple births of four or more babies are the result of vigorous fertility treatments. Yet the question remains, how does a family end up with a set of sextuplets, when it rarely occurs naturally? Usually parents in these amazing multiple births have taken at least one and probably a lot of different fertility drugs. Fertility drugs are used in both men and women to increase the production of hormones that initiate, or induce, pregnancy. "Fertility drug" is also the phrase used when the hormones themselves are actually taken by the patient(s), as is the case with the drug clomiphene. These drugs can be strong enough to cause several eggs, or ova, to be fertilized simultaneously as they release, thus increasing the chances of a pregnancy involving quintuplets, sextuplets, and even octuplets.
Why would a family choose to have so many children at once?
Though expectant parents do not begin their pregnancy journey with the intent of having a "litter," once all the little heartbeats are heard on the monitors, they can not help but want all of their children. This seems to be a common sentiment among parents who choose to keep every fertilized embryo. Parents decide, against the odds, to keep every fetus, and to try and bring multiple births as close to term as possible, for both religious and emotional reasons. Modern families hardly need many hands to work the farm, but financial hardship and the two-income society rarely figure into the monumental decision to bring a large number of babies into the world at once. In fact, many sextuplets, and even quintuplets, suffer lifelong disabilities - of those that survive the critical hours and days after their harrowing births.
This is not to say that these loving parents should not choose and celebrate multiple births; many of these couples have endured years of yearning through infertility for a child, and they feel their prayers have been answered - in abundance. Multiples can and do grow into healthy, thriving adults, but each fetus is compromised as they compete in utero inside a mother who must try to eat for six or seven. Parents who feel these are truly their "miracle babies" are probably right. These couples may simply have a greater tolerance for the risks of multiple births after the pain and struggle of infertility.
How do families handle the financial and practical considerations of multiple births?
Families with the multiples, especially quintuplets and sextuplets, must rely heavily on family members, friends, and members of the community (whether this refers to neighbors, volunteers, or fellow church members), to assist. These children have to be on a schedule of feeding, diapering, burping, etc., from their first day home. There are often shared rooms or even shared beds (which has been shown to be healthier for the development of children of multiple births - even twins). Parents must arrange their work schedules so that someone is always on duty. Often one parent will have to take on another job.
Many families must rely heavily on donations of diapers, clothing, formula, furniture, vehicles, and even homes from the community, country, and corporations. Unfortunately though, these donations do die out at some point, as fascination moves from one birth of quintuplets to the next sextuplets in the headlines.
Why aren't companies helping all of the families anymore?
The answer is simple. Multiple births may hit the news for a little while, but they are occurring with such frequency now that they have become less of a marketing tool for companies, and more of a strain on them. Proctor and Gamble even had to set a policy regarding the time limit on which they can supply a family with diapers.
Some claims have been made recently that companies provide assistance to white families, but not to black families with sextuplets. One African-American couple in D.C., whose sextuplets occurred naturally, received far less attention than an Iowa couple who also gave birth to sextuplets at about the same time. The former had to rely on housing assistance while the latter were given a house. It is possible, however, that it was less related to race and more related to the overwhelming prevalence of multiple births. Those who pursued media attention got the gifts. Those who did not call attention to themselves were not immediately acknowledged by the companies.
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