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A mom shares her experience of giving birth to triplets.
From left: Babies Kaylyn, Nicole and Ashton after their successful delivery.
Triple the joy
Ms Katrina Ng has a photo of her four kids saved in her phone – three-year-old Ethan is sandwiched between his three siblings, Kaylyn, Ashton and Nicole, who are all five years of age.
The older children were “surprise” triplets after Ms Ng and her husband underwent in vitro fertilisation (IVF) at Singapore General Hospital (SGH). She was 29 years old at the time, he was 33. The couple married in 2003 but failed to conceive naturally after trying for a couple of years, so they turned to assisted reproductive technology.
Pregnancy and delivery
In Week 7 of the pregnancy, the couple found out they would have triplets. “I got a shock and was at a loss for words,” said Ms Ng.
In Week 12, Ms Ng was advised to rest by her doctor – she took medical leave from her job – because of concern over some dilation of her cervix, a sign of possible labour. In Week 27, Ms Ng had to check into the hospital after she felt pain, and she stayed there for three weeks.
Full-term babies are born anytime after Week 37. In Week 30, Ms Ng’s triplets were delivered by Caesarean section. Three paediatricians were on hand in the delivery room to take immediate charge of the babies – Kaylyn, who weighed 1.5kg; Nicole, who weighed 1.4kg; and Ashton, who weighed 1.3kg.
Premature babies
The three tiny premature babies stayed in the neonatal intensive care unit in incubators with feeding tubes running through them for six to eight weeks.
Because the triplets were premature, they went through special therapy to ensure their development, such as speech and fine motor skills, was on track.
It was tough having triplets, even with two domestic helpers and her mother or mother-in-law pitching in, said Ms Ng. But seeing her kids now makes it all worth it. She recalled thinking, when she found out in Week 7 that she had three successfully implanted embryos: “It’s already there. We just have to carry on.” |