After 10-year wait, woman delivers quintuplets

Mumbai: For 27-year-old Sarita Shinde, a resident of Karjat, the morning of July 20 was a day of great happiness not once but five times over as she gave birth to five healthy babies.

Shinde and her husband welcomed four daughters and a son on Sunday morning at Suman Maternity and General Hospital at Karjat.

Shinde said that she was finally able to conceive after undergoing Ovulation Induction, as their attempts to be parents for 10 long years had failed. In the early stages of pregnancy, a sonography under the observation of Dr Nitin Salve revealed that she was carrying five babies.

The joyous mother said that despite initial apprehensions presented by Dr Salve, they decided to have the children fearing such an opportunity would not present itself again.

Seven-and-a-half months into the pregnancy, Shinde started experiencing labour pains and one painful Caesarean surgery later, she gave birth to four girls and one boy, all of whom are sufficiently stable and under observation at a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Baramati, Ahmednagar.

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Three of them weigh 1.2 kg, while two weigh 1 kg each.

Sarita, who had been sedated since the delivery, said, "I am yet to see my children but I am extremely excited and happy. The doctors have been highly proficient. My husband is a daily wage labourer in the construction business and we cannot afford all the additional treatments that are necessary. They are trying to set up a trust fund with the Taluka Medical Association to help us out."

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Dr Salve, the obstetrician who delivered the quintuplets added, "Despite their premature birth, they weigh substantially well. This shows promise of their healthy survival."

Ovulation Induction

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Ovulation induction is one of the simplest fertility treatments available and quite commonly administered to women who have irregular menstrual cycles. The treatment simply involves taking oral or injectable medication to help them ovulate and produce an increased number of eggs.

Did you know?

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The first ever quintuplets to survive infancy were the Dionne quintuplets born on May 28, 1934. The five sisters were born in Canada.

Foursome

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The last known quintuplet birth in India was in Mumbai's Kokilaben Ambani Hospital where Sabeera Khan successfully gave birth to five boys in 2009. Out of the five boys that were conceived, four survived. Kareem, Kaif, Kamil and Kaadil will celebrate their second birthday on  September 4.

Dr Suchitra Pandit, the gynaecologist who delivered the Khan quintuplets, said that it was extremely common for mothers to have premature births in cases of multiple pregnancies.