Aug 17, 2008 12:38 pm US/Pacific
Quadruplets Born In Bellflower
BELLFLOWER, Calif.
A team of obstetricians, nurses and neonatal care specialists assisted with quadruplets successfully delivered this weekend at a Bellflower hospital.
The quadruplets were delivered to Vanessa Preciado Duarte and her husband Fernando at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Bellflower Friday night at 7:48 p.m. Friday.
The quadruplets include Fernando, Jr., Marianna, Jesus and Yadira and weighed in between 3-pounds 2-ounces and 3-pounds and 11-ounces.
The babies are considered premature at 32 weeks gestation, and were delivered via Caesarian section, Kaiser Permanente obstetrician Mitch Rabbi said.
Three of the four babies are feeding, and the fourth is expected to start eating as well, a hospital spokeswoman Sunday said.
"Even though the births were premature, we had prepared in advance," said medical director Dr. Binesh Batra. "We had delivery teams of nearly 25 people on standby."
The occurrence of quadruplet births in the United States is rare, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, which recorded only 418 such births from 1995 to 2005.
Another set of quads was born at Kaiser Permanente's Bellflower hospital, and that group recently celebrated their fifth birthdays at a party at the hospital.
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