Life just got a lot busier for one Scottish couple celebrating the births of their rare, naturally conceived quadruplet babies.
Arlene and John Mitchell welcomed their four newborn sons, Ben, Noah, Harrison and Rory, on May 14.
The family, which lives in the village of Longridge, is the first to have naturally conceived quadruplets in the Lothian region of Scotland, the local health authority reported. The odds of naturally conceiving quadruplets are estimated to be about one in 700,000 births.
NHS Lothian said a “dedicated team of 17 doctors and midwives” delivered the four newborns. The medical team at the Simpson Centre for Reproductive Health at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh said they are “immensely proud” of the medical feat.
The quads were delivered during a planned caesarean section when Arlene was 30 weeks pregnant.
According to the BBC, the smallest of the quadruplets, Harrison, was born weighing 2 pounds, 14 ounces. The other three brothers each weighed 2 pounds, 15 ounces each. Arlene, 34, said the birth of her four newborns was “an incredible and overwhelming experience.”
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She told the BBC it was a “total shock” when she learned at her first scan they would be having quadruplets.
“I was absolutely speechless and my husband just couldn’t believe it,” she recalled. “They are really beautiful and we are so delighted.”
Arlene said they cannot wait to take the quads home to their two older children, 11-year-old daughter Lauren and son Hunter, 3.
Now a family of eight, the Mitchells will likely have to get used to chaos in their lives, especially with four newborns in need of care. John seemed to anticipate the wild change of pace when he told the BBC, “Life is going to be a bit noisier for all of us.”
Still, John said he’s excited to unite his large family.
The quadruplets, who are still in medical care, have been moved to St John’s Hospital in Livingston to be closer to where the Mitchell family lives.
Is it safe to have quadruplets?
According to the U.S.-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, multiple births have a higher-than-normal chance of complications for both mother and newborns.
“Women pregnant with quadruplets face a 90% risk of developing preeclampsia, a dangerous pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure,” the organization wrote.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine said the average pregnancy duration for quadruplets is 30 weeks, and the average birth weight is about 2 pounds, 14 ounces.
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