(Newswire.net — December 11, 2013) Miami, Florida — Natural pregnancy without any help from fertility drugs can be rather difficult for some couples. However, a couple from Sacramento was lucky enough to have naturally conceived identical triplets.
Doctors say such natural childbirth, where a single fertilized egg is divided into three separate embryos, is “one in a million”.
“It’s everything at once. I think you can get lost just staring in their faces. But it’s overwhelming to think about everything to come, ” Hannah Hepner, the triplets’ mother, said.
While the Hepner triplets were born healthy, carrying identical multiple babies can bring about complications to fetal development or to the mother, said Gilbert. Dr. William Gilbert, director of Women’s Services for Sutter Health in Sacramento, who treated the Hepner family.
Gilbert said one complication that Mrs. Hepner suffered from was preeclampsia, a condition characterized by a sudden rise in blood pressure during the later stages of pregnancy.
“Mrs. Hepner started getting high blood pressure and it got so high she could have had a stroke. It’s a delicate balancing act, keeping the babies inside as long as it’s safe for them,” Gilbert said.
The newborn babies each weighed in between three and four pounds. The doctor also said that most triplets are delivered at 32 weeks into the pregnancy, but the Hepner triplets were delivered at 33 weeks.
——————————————————–
Approximately 10% of reproductive-age couples in the United States alone have difficulty getting pregnant. About 30% of these cases are due to ovulation and fertility problems in the woman, while another 30% of the cases are due to fertility issues in the man. The rest of the cases are brought about by unexplained causes or multiple factors involving both the man and woman.
To discover the best ways to get pregnant you can check out The Getting Pregnant Plan. Learn about the first signs of pregnancy, proper pregnancy exercises, and the common causes of fertility problems, as well as the prevention and treatment.
Author: Tania Shipman
###