Mangalore: Quadruplets Born to First-timer at Lady Goschen Hospital
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (MM/RD)
Pics: Ganesh S Perla
Report coordinated by Richie Lasrado
- The very first delivery brings fourfold blessings
- The 23-year-old mother and her driver husband now have to contend with both joy and responsibility
Mangalore, Nov 8 (mb): The union government is planning to control the population through various plans. But, what if destiny chooses to grant a bonanza of four to a family in one go? Such an instance has been reported from Lady Goschen Hospital here on Tuesday, November 6.
The privileged mother is none other than Lalita (23), wife of Biju M S (25), resident of Moodijal-Shibaje in Beltangady taluk. Biju has been working as a jeep driver in his village. Lalita was admitted here 2 months ago, when the family came to know that she was to deliver quadruplets.
However, this is the first child-birth for Lalita, having borne 2 boys and 2 girls. Now, two infants are with the mother and other two, found to be slighly underweight, have been placed in the observation room. Dr R Rati Devi, eminent obstetrician and gynaecologist of the city, has been taking care of the mother and 4 children here.
After tests, the mother and all the four infants have been found normal and healthy. The four little ones weigh 1.7, 1.6, 1.5 and 1.3 kg.
History
Biju and Lalita, hailing from a Malayali Billawa farmer's family, have been married for two years. With two miscarriages in the following year, Lalita had been referred to Dr Rati Devi in the city about a year-and-a-half ago. Having conceived under her care and consultation, Lalita was treated with hormones. A subsequent scan report revealed growth of multiple foetuses. After 2-3 check-ups and investigations in private hospitals, it was confirmed that it was a case of quadruplets.
Given the distance of about 50 kms and the bad roads between her village and the city, Lalita was advised not to travel frequently and, instead, to get admitted to the government-run Lady Goschen Hospital in mid-September, 2007 and was provided with all facilities there. November 15 was indicated as the likely date of delivery. But pangs of delivery showed up on November 6 itself. Dr Rati Devi, assisted by Dr Ramesh and Dr Anupama, facilitated the child-birth with a Caesarean section.
"I have seen or heard of cases of twins or triplets. Often they are conjoined or bear defects. But these quadruplets are absolutely healthy. As far as I know, this could be the first-ever case of quadruplets being born in recent times," said a beaming Dr Rati Devi.
"When we came to know that we are going to have four kids, we were stressed and tensed up. But since there were two instances of abortion earlier, we accepted it as a godsend and faced it as a challenge," said Biju, who has become a father of four little bundles of joy together.
Read about a similar, earlier case, in Tamil Nadu: