More than 30 years ago, the world's first all-female surviving sextuplets were born in Liverpool, UK. By that time, their mother Janet Walton had had more than a dozen failed attempts at conceiving a baby.
The sextuplets had a one in 104 billion chance of survival
That day the scan lasted a little longer than usual. Janet Walton noticed the doctor's face change when he saw the image on the screen and asked what was wrong. He replied that everything was fine and that Mrs. Walton seemed to be having twins.
For Janet and Graham Walton, this was their 13th attempt at having a baby in five years. Before this ultrasound, they decided that if the fertility pills Janet was taking still didn't work, the couple would opt for adoption.
But a few minutes later, joy gave way to anxiety. The ultrasound tech called a doctor, then another. Different specialists entered the room, all whispering among themselves. When Janet couldn't wait no more and asked again what was wrong, she heard: "You're going to have sextuplets."
One in 104 billion was the odds of such a pregnancy going well
But the mother-to-be felt surprisingly calm because she was sure the kids would be okay.
Janet had stayed in the hospital for almost six months before giving birth. On the day of the scan, Janet was eight weeks pregnant. The next day she was taken to the hospital, where she stayed until the delivery. The birth of a set of six babies is extremely rare. Only two such cases were known at the time. The hospital's obstetrical staff which was to help with the delivery of the sextuplets knew they faced a heavy responsibility.
Twenty-three weeks into Janet's pregnancy was supposed to be the first critical point in fetal development. Doctors believed that if Janet managed to stay pregnant until that point, the girls had a chance of survival. At 23 weeks, Janet felt the babies begin to push. She managed to carry the babies till 31 weeks.
At first the girls had numbers instead of names
On the day the C-section was scheduled, Janet was perfectly calm. But outside her ward there was panic. Preparations for the surgery had been very stressful for the obstetricians. All surgeries were canceled and the maternity unit was closed.
Each baby was attended to by a team of several specialists. The mother's condition was monitored by the seventh team. Janet gave birth under general anesthesia. Her first question when she woke up was, "Are they alive?"
And, to everybody's surprise, they were alive. Six girls were born weighing between 2,2 and 3,5 lb. When the first critical 48 hours passed, it became clear that these were the first all-female surviving sextuplets.
Number one is Hannah, an elementary school teacher who lives with her parents. The second child is Luci; today she works for local airlines. Number three, Ruth, works as a secretary. Number four, Sarah, now on maternity leave, works in a medical center, and number five, Kate, is an HR. Number six, Jenny, runs her own bakery. In 2014, Sarah became a mom. That's how another girl, Georgie, came into the Walton family.
Source: mel
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