A
Ashley
Guest
I am currently pregnant with quadruplets, and I have a pre-existing health condition that may complicate things even more, but I'll get that in a minute. My husband & I were originally pregnant with quintuplets, but lost one of the babies on it's own at about 11 weeks. All of the remaining 4 babies are healthy, and I have no present issues or complications with the pregnancy, and actually feel quite well! We did not plan on having quads, I took ovulation induction medicine to regulate my cycles, so we'd know when I could get pregnant, but I did not do IVF, or implant embryos. We were counseled on the possibility of having multiples, and understood that there was a slight risk for twins, and even rarely triplets, but we never thought that this would be a possibility. We would have never done this on purpose, but since we are in the situation, we have embraced it, and feel that every child is a blessing from God. I have seen many doctors, and they have advised me of the risks of quads alone, but since I have another health condition on top of that, they are even more concerned about the pregnancy. I have a dialated cardiomyopathy, which is a health condition where one of the sides of the heart is enlarged, and that can cause complications. I take a medicine for this condition on a regular basis, and it is said to be safe for the babies. I have no symptoms of the condition either. It was something that I was born with, and would physically never know that I had if I wasn't told. So obviously, because of this condition, the doctors are very concerned. Let me also add that I have had a previous single pregnancy, and although I found out several years later that I had a decreased ejection fraction, I had absolutely no complications during my pregnancy, and had a easy delivery. All things that I was told I would never do! I now have a beautiful 3-year old daughter that is my life, and while she has the condition I do, she is the same way as me, and takes medicine on a regular basis, but she is just like a normal child, and has no symptoms. I have been told by all 3 doctors that we have seen that I must reduce, and that I face very serious consequences from this pregnancy, including death. I was told this during my pregnancy with my daughter, & everything was fine, and I faced no side effects. I understand that this is a very different pregnancy, but I do not feel as if I could reduce even if I wanted to. I have had a 2-hour phone consult with the doctor who would do the reduction, and have had 2 appointments that I have canceled because I could not go through with them. My husband & I are very set in our decision that we don't want to reduce, and I feel very at peace about the pregnancy, and feel as if God is with me, and will get me through it. I understand that it is a serious issue, and am not trying to be ignorant, but I really feel like God will help me through the pregnancy, and we will have a healthy pregnancy for both me & the babies, both before & after delivery. Our goal is to make it to at least 30-34 weeks. The average is 28 weeks, which means 50% deliver before 28 weeks when they could not be viable, and then 50% deliver after. I will be on bed rest, both at home, and in the hospital, as well as having to have a c-section delivery. The doctors have told me that if I become sick, that they will deliver me, whenever that may be, even if that means losing all of the babies by delivering them before they could survive, or by delivering them where they would survive, but could have long-term consequences, or health problems. We are obviously praying that this does not happen! We are also praying that my condition doesn't worsen during pregnancy, and that I recovery fully from any complications that would arise. Again, we are praying that this doesn't happen. Our goals for this pregnancy are obviously to have 4 healthy babies, and that I remain healthy, and that there are no complications. I truly believe that God doesn't give you anything that you can't handle, and I have faith that God will get us through this with a great outcome! We would just like to have as many people praying for us as possible!!!
