"Wouldn't be doing this if they didn't trust the Canadian health care system."
I guess we know better, if it is serious get the hell out of Canada.
Quads born in U.S. due to shortage
No space in Alberta hospitals to deliver rare identical quadruplet daughters to Calgary couple
Michelle Lang and Keith Bonnell, Calgary Herald; CanWest News Service
Published: 2:36 am
A rare set of identical quadruplets will be reunited today at a Calgary hospital after spending their first night apart Thursday -- two in Canada and two in the United States.
Karen Jepp, 35, of Calgary delivered four healthy little girls Sunday at a hospital in Montana, after being sent there because of a shortage of neonatal beds in Canada.
Babies Calissa and Dahlia, the strongest of the newborns, were flown to Alberta by air ambulance Thursday afternoon with their father, J.P. Jepp -- only two babies can be accommodated in the aircraft. They are to be joined by sisters Autumn and Brooke today.
"Karen and I are excited to welcome four healthy, beautiful girls into our family," said the 37-year-old father of the quadruplets in a statement.
"The pregnancy has been an absolute roller-coaster of emotion for us, and we're thrilled our girls are finally here and that all are well."
Dr. Thomas Key, a high-risk pregnancy specialist who helped bring the four babies into the world Sunday at the Benefis Health Care centre in Great Falls, Mont., said the outlook for each of these little girls is perfectly normal. "They're small, but very healthy, very alive. They've just got some growing to do."
The babies, who doctors had dubbed babies A, B, C and D -- names the parents extended into Autumn, Brooke, Calissa and Dahlia -- were delivered via caesarean section in about 15 minutes.
The babies were delivered at 311/2 weeks because of concerns doctors had for the condition of Dahlia, the U.S. physician said.
"One of the fetuses was in a somewhat dangerous position," Key said.
But all four emerged without complication.
"It was just a tremendous sense of relief," the doctor said.
The four newborns ranged in size from two pounds six ounces to two pounds 15 ounces, according to the family's blog.
"They're tiny, but they have great colour," said Kate Jepp, the quadruplet's aunt. "They look good."
She said her brother and sister-in-law are ecstatic about their new babies, although they did initially find the transfer to a Montana hospital stressful.
None of Jepp's babies required artificial respiration after they were delivered Sunday, although two required some air pressure to assist their lungs.
After sharing a womb for almost eight months, the babies were kept in close proximity after they were born.
Each was presented individually to the mother and father, who doted over their new babies, making sure they received lots of physical contact in their first few days, the U.S. doctor said.
"Phenomenal parents, very capable parents," he said of the Jepps. "They certainly will grow up in a very blessed environment."
Each child was also tagged with a band on her wrist and ankle shortly after her birth, to keep their identities straight.
Calgary Health Region officials say the chance of giving birth to naturally conceived quadruplets is one in 13 million, adding that Canada's last identical quads were born in 1982.
Calgary doctors had been closely monitoring Jepp's pregnancy and were anticipating her newborns would require care at Foothills Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit in Calgary.
However, when Jepp began experiencing labour symptoms on Friday, the unit at Foothills was over capacity with several unexpected pre-term births.
A spokeswoman for the Calgary Health Region, said no other Canadian NICU had space for Jepp's four babies.
"There wasn't space anywhere in Canada, so we had to turn to our friends in Montana," she said.
Jepp was flown to Montana on Friday -- the fifth Alberta woman to be transferred to Great Falls this year because of neonatal shortages in Calgary.
The babies face about six more weeks in hospital.
The Calgary Health Region is picking up the tab for the babies' U.S. health care -- from $1,500 to $2,000 a day for the mother, Karen, and from $6,000 to $7,000 a day for each of the four girl's stay in intensive care.
Had Karen delivered in Calgary, her care would have cost $800 a day, and it would have been $2,500 a day for the quads.
Each air ambulance trip will cost $10,000 to $15,000.
canada.com |
