Mum delivers 'miracle' quads at 29 weeks

December 30, 2014

Author: Rosa Caballero

A set of quadruplets, whose conception was labelled as one in 70 million, has been born via caesarean section after the babies' mother went into labour at 29 weeks.

US woman Ashley Gardner has been on bed rest in hospital for the past six weeks and posted regular updates to more than 250,000 followers of her Facebook page.

On Monday morning (NZ time) Ashley's sister Whitney let followers know the four baby girls had been born after doctors decided strong and regular contractions meant it was time for them to arrive.

"Babies are out! We know nothing else," Whitney wrote.

About 40 minutes later she shared the fantastic news that all babies, named Indie Mae, Esme Jane, Scarlett Elizabeth, Evangeline Faith, were doing well.

"All 4 babies are doing GREAT! Indie is the smallest baby just under 2 lbs (900 grams) the rest are over 2 lbs Mama is doing great and Dad is overjoyed!"

She also posted a picture of new mum Ashley and said all the babies had "dark hair".

On Christmas Day Ashley and husband Tyson had shared her joy at reaching 29 weeks gestation - with between 28 and 32 weeks being considered full-term for quadruplet pregnancies.

"We made it to 29 weeks now! Can you believe it??" she wrote.

"This week has really gone by fast! I have been in a lot more pain and super uncomfortable! But I can do it for these babies! No one said it would be easy but it will be worth it! We waited so long to get them and I am willing to do anything for these babies!"

The four baby girls, who are actually two sets of identical twins, were tested every 24 hours in recent weeks to ensure they were still active and growing well. Ashley had been having contractions for a number of days, but when they became more intense and regular doctors decided it was time to deliver the babies by caesarean section.

The pregnancy has not been without difficulties with Ashley undergoing emergency surgery in October after it was discovered one of the quads was suffering "twin to twin transfusion syndrome" which causes blood flow to be unequally shared between identical twins.

After surgery to correct the blood flow, doctors also gave Ashley medication to halt any contractions as it appeared her body was threatening to go into labour at just 19 weeks.

The Gardner's pregnancy has been followed closely by fans everywhere since the couple first announced they were having quads and posted pictures of themselves in shock after receiving the news at a routine ultrasound.

As their story was shared around the world their Facebook page "A Miracle Unfolding - Gardner Quadruplets" attracted more than 250,000 'likers' eagerly following updates about the pregnancy.

The quads' conception was the result of the first round of IVF treatment for Ashley and Tyson, who had been struggling for years to conceive naturally.

The mum and dad-to-be were rendered speechless at their first ultrasound as they were told not only had both embryos implanted, but both had split - meaning there were now two sets of twins.

"Our battle with infertility was a long journey and we are so happy to finally be where we are," Ashley told US website Baby Centre at the time. "The funny thing about us having four girls is that Tyson is the oldest of 10 kids and 8 are boys. This was the last thing anyone expected and everyone is so excited!"

The Gardner babies come after a mother in Texas gave birth to four boys, who also comprised of two sets of identical twins, on Valentine's Day last year.

Tressa Montalvo and husband Manuel had decided to have one more baby in order to give their son Memphis a little brother or sister, but ended up welcoming four more sons.

At the time of the birth of the Montalvo boys, experts said the chance of such a pregnancy was one in 70 million.

About 2 per cent of all pregnancies result in twins. The odds of having non-identical twins are one in 80 and with identical twins this rises to one in 240.

"In the case of this couple, two eggs were fertilised by the sperm and then both decided to split before they were implanted, the odds of which are indeed somewhere in the region of one in 70 million," UK Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists spokesperson Basky Thilaganathan told the Mail Online last year.