Chinese quadruplets defy 750,000-to-1 odds, but poor parents say they still need a miracle
Couple says medical costs of caring for their new son and three daughters, whom they have yet to name, add up to US$2,400 a day
A Chinese woman who was told she might not be able to carry her four foetuses to full term successfully gave birth to quadruplets last week, about a month prematurely, according to a local newspaper report.
While the infants are all doing well in intensive care, their parents, from Xining in northwest China’s Qinghai province, said they were struggling to cover the cost of the medical treatment the babies needed, Xining Evening News reported.
Liu Youlan, 30, gave birth to the babies by caesarean section on Friday, when she was just 33 weeks into her pregnancy. Doctors recommended a surgical delivery out of concern for Liu’s health as she had a problem with her liver, the report said.
Four surgeons, four obstetricians, three anaesthesiologists and four nurses took part in the one-hour procedure. The first arrival was a baby boy, who weighed in at 1.8kg (4 pounds). He was followed by his three sisters, all of whom weighed between 1.9kg and 2.1kg.
The fact all four babies were born healthy defied the odds in more ways than one. When Liu and her husband Ma Yuncai were told in January they were expecting quadruplets, doctors advised them to abort at least one of the foetuses on the grounds that trying to carry all four to full term would be too risky for the mother.