Emirati couple overjoyed with rare delivery of quadruplets

Doctors delivered quadruplets – three boys and a girl – to an Emirati woman, a hospital said on Sunday.

Quadruplets Khalifa, Mohammed, Hamdan and Fatima, were born to Emirati parents at Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women and Children in Abu Dhabi last month. Courtesy United Eastern Medical Services

ABU DHABI // The Emirati parents of newborn quadruplets have described their “extraordinary” rare delivery at an Abu Dhabi hospital.

Khalifa, Mohammed, Hamdan and Fatima, along with their mum, have been discharged after the delivery last month.

Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women and Children said on Sunday that the babies — each weighing between 1.2 and 1.46 kilograms — were in good health with no complications.

Their overjoyed father said he named the children as their birth coincided with the return of Sheikh Khalifa, the President, to the UAE after an overseas visit.

“I was speechless when I found out my wife was pregnant with quadruplets. The day of her delivery was an extraordinary day,” he said.

He was surprised to find that his wife had been moved to a special suite decorated with roses and chocolates.

“We felt comfortable, confident and at ease. We did not tell the rest of the family and our friends that we were having quadruplets,” he said.

“We are thankful to Allah that our quadruplets are in good health and are joining our other children.”

The mother had been closely monitored since her first trimester at the hospital’s obstetrics department, said Dr Rihan Saafan, consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology. She performed a caesarean section in the 31st week of pregnancy, with four neonatologists present to care for the infants after delivery.

Two babies needed breathing support for a few days, said Dr Iviano Ossuetta, head of the hospital’s paediatrics and neonatology department. The infants stayed in the NICU for more than 40 days until they were discharged, with each weighing more than 2kg.

The hospital’s level III neonatal intensive care unit “plays a vital role in dealing with rare and complicated cases including multiple pregnancies”, said Mohammed Al Hammadi, chief executive and managing director of United Eastern Medical Services, the hospital’s parent company.

Dr Thomas Kunt, chief medical officer at Danat Al Emarat Hospital, said delivering quadruplets is not simple.

“There are plenty of necessary arrangements and preparations that need to be done from the obstetricians to the team of neonatologists and nurses,” he said.

“Our 20-bed NICU at Danat Al Emarat Hospital, in addition to the advanced foetal medicine unit that is led by experienced medical staff, largely contributed to the success of this rare delivery.”