sextuplets

Nurse-One · Jun 16, 2007

I really think there should be some sort of law against inseminating when more than 3 follicles are seen. It sounds like the Arizona sextuplets at over 3 pounds each (except one) are going to be fine but the Mom is in critical condition with heart failure. So 6 babies, perhaps without their mother.
The Minnesota sextuplets were born at only 22 weeks. Not much likelihood of them all surviving. Those that do will surely suffer severe physical handicaps.
I just don't understand all the happiness in this. They said they are God's gift to them. Not really, God gives us babies one, two, or three at a time and rarely more. When you give birth to a litter of children that "blessing" has been forced into the woman's uterus and in my opinion, totally selfish. I agree that I could not go along with selective reduction once pregnant with six but why six in the first place. What's wrong with one or two at a time?

Completely agree with you on the idea a littler of childern (all at ounce) as being a "blessing." A blessing does not involve the intervention of Men. Neither is it a "mircale". This topic came up in my class-Motherhood and Childbearing just this pass thursday. It is unfortunate that some couples cannot produce a child as our bodies are intended to (for whatever reason). Fertility Doc's should use better judgement like the medical professional that they are suppose to be. Its not fair to those babies. They deserve a better start into this world, they are at risk for many developmental delays and medical problems that could be avoided if some adults just stop trying to be "greedy" (in my opinion)

I'm not being insensitive about the infertility situation because a child's innocents can bring joy to our lives. And if i had the money and was faced with that problem I would problely go that route without "overdoing it". IVF that is not the only option.

stillpressingon · Jun 16, 2007

Anybody have an update on the remaining 22wkrs?

Ophelia78 · Jun 16, 2007

Folks, as an infertility patient, I can tell you that a doc going through with an IUI after seeing 14 follicles on ultrasound is NOT typical. Quite irresponsible, in fact. Most will cancel a cycle if they feel there are too many eggs. Most refuse to put more than 2 embryos back during IVF because of the risk of high order multiples. Many of the infertile women I've met, friends, through support groups, and in the world of infertility blogs, have experienced canceled IUI cycles at least once during treatment because of too many follicles. It's the docs we all should be shaking our fingers at, not the patients. The purpose of monitoring while using the stronger injectable meds is to avoid such situations.

We "greedy" infertiles just want what most women do- a happy healthy child to share our lives with. If we have an endocrine disorder or a hormonal imbalance or a blood clotting issue that makes us miscarry every child we create, we deserve medical treatment just like for any other medical disorder.

Interested in understanding more about the grief we have in not being able to conceive a child easily? A great website is http://www.resolve.org. The pages for friends and family are very informative.

anniesong · Jun 16, 2007

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a third 22-week sextuplet has died.

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1250380.html

TexasPediRN · Jun 16, 2007

Unable to access the above link..but how sad for the family..

Although..I'd be suprised if any of them make it..they are too little. 22 weeks is barely viable for a single pregnancy, let alone sextuplets..

BabyRN2Be · Jun 17, 2007

She wasn't infertile, she had been pregnant twice and miscarried twice.

Good grief. If she did ART just based on that, maybe a little more patience and she'd be pregnant on her own with a singleton rather than a litter.

Personally speaking, I've had two prior miscarriages, and a year after the second miscarriage, I'm pregnant with a singleton. All appears to be healthy so far (asking for prayers and keeping fingers and toes crossed for that) and I'm 40. If she did it for age reasons, she had plenty of time.

While we don't know the specifics here, I'm really surprised that someone did IUI just based on two prior miscarriages alone. I wonder if they did any further testing and what it revealed? It sounds like they really possibly jumped the gun here by doing IUI.

Something about the husband really rubs me wrong. They've been asking for donations all along, including a high end car, and now they want the hospital to write off the bill? :angryfire Did they not think what could happen going ahead with an IUI with 13 follies?:trout:

Why didn't I think of doing IUI with 13 follicles? Instead of scrimping and saving and buying EVERYTHING used (including my maternity clothes), I could have had all new stuff along with volunteers so I can go take time off. OK, so I might be rather harsh here, but good grief.

This was just so irresponsible in my opinion.

stillpressingon · Jun 17, 2007

This is so unbelievably tragic. I can only imagine the heartache - and stark reality - those parents are experiencing! I will be astonished if any of them make it, serious problems or not. So, so sad.

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Jun 17, 2007

But this is not to say that I agree with implanting 6 embryos. Just because the technology is there, doesn't mean that we should use it.

In the case of the Phoenix sextuplets, it was IUI, not IVF. No embryos were implanted.

We "greedy" infertiles just want what most women do- a happy healthy child to share our lives with.

Thank you .

stillpressingon · Jun 17, 2007

I'm curious: Is there any difference between IUI and AI?

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Jun 17, 2007

Nope. It's just sperm inserted into the top of the uterus. It's mainly for male factor related infertility, or hostile cervical mucus. Only 1% of sperms make it past the cervix.

You can do it medicated (which the phoenix couple did) or unmedicated. It's a simple procedure, and the costs is minimal compared to IVF.

stillpressingon · Jun 17, 2007

Cardiac: when it's UN-medicated, is it just done when the woman is ovulating vs. HELPING her ovulate more? So much about this topic I don't know!

Jolie, BSN · Jun 17, 2007

Cardiac: when it's UN-medicated, is it just done when the woman is ovulating vs. HELPING her ovulate more? So much about this topic I don't know!

IUI or AI is often done as an early step in the treatment of infertility when there are problems with sperm quality, number, or motility. It is also sometimes used simply as a way of increasing the odds of conception when the cause of infertility is unknown.

If the woman appears to be ovulating normally, it is done without the use of medications. If there are problems with ovulation, then Clomid may be used along with a scheduled insemination.

For women who fail Clomid treatment, insemination is sometimes coupled with the use of high-powered fertility drugs, but a RESPONSIBLE infertility specialist would insist on an U/S to determine the number of follicles produced prior to scheduling an insemination, and would cancel a cycle if the patient produced too many follicles. Unlike IVF, there is no way to control the number of follicles that are fertilized and implant following an insemination procedure.

I was treated with Pergonal in preparation for an insemination, but produced 12 follicles, way too many to be considered safe. My insemination was cancelled, and I was instructed to NOT have unprotected intercourse until U/S my number of follicles was reduced to less than 4. When that happened about 2 months later, I conceived "naturally", and had a singleton.