Lauren Perkins: Mom of sextuplets describes 'normal' delivery and reveals all of her 'six-pack' are progressing and gaining strength | Mail Online
One mother, 35 doctors, six babies: Mom of
One mother, 35 doctors, six babies: Mom of sextuplets describes 'normal' delivery and reveals all of her 'six-pack' are progressing and gaining strength
By Rachel Quigley PUBLISHED: 09:22 EST, 2 May 2012 | UPDATED: 12:37 EST, 2 May 2012
With a team of 35 doctors on standby, the birth of her sextuplets was anything but normal.
But with the way Lauren and David Perkins, from Houston, Texas, are calmly talking about the 'smooth' birth of their six children after just 30 weeks you would think it was just your average delivery.
Describing the pregnancy as 'easy', Lauren spoke to MSNBCabout their arrival of their three boys and three girls in just four minutes by caesarian section. Scroll down for video
Mother: Lauren Perkins said the four-minute delivery of her six sextuplets was normal and she is slowly but surely on the mend
The Perkins sextuplets: Andrew, Ben, Levi, Allison, Caroline, and Leah are all tiny but progressing with Leah the only one who still needs a ventilator
Experts: 35 doctors were on board to help deliver the sextuplet at the Texas Children's Hospital, one team for each baby
The babies are tiny, but are making big progress and are expected to stay at the Texas Children's Hospital in Houston for several months, until they gain strength and weight, she revealed.
Mom: Lauren Perkins gave birth to sextuplets prematurely at 30 weeks after an 'easy' pregnancy
Speaking about the delivery, where a team of specialists were on hand for each baby, Lauren said: 'They said "baby A is out". I'm like, oh, we're starting. And they came out within four minutes of each other - total four minutes all six were out.'
David said: 'My heart was beating like crazy. And the first thing I noticed when I walked in and saw Lauren was that she was shaking like crazy. I did not know that that was perfectly normal.'
They called their babies Andrew, Ben, Levi, Allison, Caroline, and Leah. The largest was just two pounds 15 ounces. The smallest one pounds ten ounces.
Five of the sextuplets are doing well and breathing on their own but baby Leah is still on a ventilator and has already underwent surgery but is coming through it well.
Her parents are confident she will make it. David said: 'I don't think that we'd be taken this far just to have someone not go home with us. We're very confident in that.'
The Perkins tried for 18 months to get pregnant before turning to fertility treatment IUI. The doctors told them an option was selective reduction - meaning they could abort some of the babies in order to increase the chances of survival for the others.
But for the couple, this was just not an option.
Lauren said: 'Seeing your six babies and seeing their heartbeats and there's no sign of any problems, so you know, how do you choose?'
Proud dad: David Perkins said holding the babies for the first time was amazing and that selective reduction was never an option
Miracle: Five of the sextuplets are doing well and breathing on their own but baby Leah is still on a ventilator and has already underwent surgery but is coming through it well
Care: Lauren helps a nurse put one of her six children in a blanket at the hospital where they will remain for several months
Shortly after the birth Lauren posted on her blog: 'What a week! In the NICU, things change hourly so we're constantly getting updates. We're concentrating on their general health and progress.
'Our news has spread faster than expected, but we really appreciate all the prayers and support. Please continue to pray for the babies' health!'
About the delivery she wrote: 'The delivery went very smoothly with approximately 35 people in the operating room.
'Each baby was immediately handed over to their own team and once they were cleaned up, the team brought each baby over for Dave and I to see.'
A statement on their site from the beginning of the pregnancy explained how Lauren came to be expecting sextuplets.
Baby bump: All babies weighed between 1lb 10oz and 2lbs 15 oz after being conceived using intra-uterine insemination with ovulatory stimulating drugs
Her husband wrote: 'That involved two weeks of shots and a couple of turkey bastings.
'There was a 25 per cent chance the procedure would work at all, and if it worked, a 25 per cent chance of twins.
'The odds went down from there on multiples, with a one per cent chance of sextuplets.
'After the two-week wait we found out Lauren was indeed pregnant, but with really high hormone levels, so an ultrasound was recommended to see what was going on.
'We knew something was up when we saw the doctor's jaw drop... he had seen six babies! Our feelings range from excited, overwhelmed, and scared, all at the same time.
'We are completely trusting God throughout this adventure and we appreciate all the prayers and support from our family and friends!!'
Congratulations and hopefully,they won't expect any donations from companies and folks because people aren't having this 50 babies at once and then wanting help mess anymore.
__________________
Down for my LGBT fam all day. Proud supporter of gay marriage and equal rights.
wonder how long it will be before TLC offers them a show?
I don't think that is going to fly. People are tired of these folks with a hundred children getting reality shows. Even with them being married,unlike Octomom, it still won't work.
__________________
Down for my LGBT fam all day. Proud supporter of gay marriage and equal rights.
Will you have a tv show, given the opportunity?
Heck no. I don't think being on tv was root cause to the demise of the Gosselin family (Jon and Kate 8) or the Masche family (Raising Sextuplets). I think being on tv exacerbated pre-existing problems.
Wow, congrats to them! And they get major props for saying they wouldn't do tv.
__________________
Joan Clayton: My mother always said, "When love runs out on you, God sends you love's equivalent... or better." Toni Childs: I thought she said, "When you run out of love's lubricant, use butter." Joan Clayton: What? Toni Childs: What? Your momma does mumble. And we both know she's a freak.
Since all the babies weighed between 1 and 2 lbs, it was kind of like having one normal size baby I guess. And she didn't need to push any out her snatch so I could see why she said it was an easy pregnancy. Good luck to them.
but they gotta stop wit this putting in 6,7,8 embryos shit
all a couple needs is two to survive if the pregnancy will progress and most will wit just two embryos
three, four, five, and more is excessive since they will survive
They didn't have IVF where embryos are transferred to the uterus. They had IUI which means that sperm was inserted in her uterus to give it a better chance of reaching an egg. She did however, use ovary stimulating drugs. This is the same way Jon & Kate got their sextuplets.
Having gone through IVF I can say that legitimate doctors do try to maximize the chance of pregnancy while minimizing the risks of multiples. Most clinics are trying to increase the rate of success while only transferring 2 embryos. Reputable clinics won't usually transfer any more than 4 embryos at once. I had 4 transferred and had only 1 healthy baby. This was after having transferred the same number of healthy embryos in previous trials and ending up with no babies at all. Clinics like the one Octomom used are not reputable and should not be lumped in with other legitimate clinics.
Mother: Lauren Perkins said the four-minute delivery of her six sextuplets was normal and she is slowly but surely on the mend
The Perkins sextuplets: Andrew, Ben, Levi, Allison, Caroline, and Leah are all tiny but progressing with Leah the only one who still needs a ventilator 
Experts: 35 doctors were on board to help deliver the sextuplet at the Texas Children's Hospital, one team for each baby
Mom: Lauren Perkins gave birth to sextuplets prematurely at 30 weeks after an 'easy' pregnancy
Proud dad: David Perkins said holding the babies for the first time was amazing and that selective reduction was never an option
Miracle: Five of the sextuplets are doing well and breathing on their own but baby Leah is still on a ventilator and has already underwent surgery but is coming through it well
Care: Lauren helps a nurse put one of her six children in a blanket at the hospital where they will remain for several months
Baby bump: All babies weighed between 1lb 10oz and 2lbs 15 oz after being conceived using intra-uterine insemination with ovulatory stimulating drugs
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