LEXINGTON,
KY (Dec. 4, 2001) – The first known quintuplets born in
Lexington are continuing to improve, but remain in critical but
stable condition at University of Kentucky Children’s Hospital.
Monica
Wainscott of Frankfort gave birth to Bailey Christine at Central
Baptist Hospital after going into labor Nov. 16.
She weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces.
Wainscott and Bailey were then transferred to UK Hospital
and UK Children’s Hospital, respectively.
Bailey’s two sisters and two brothers – Avery Maxine,
Shelby Tyler, Lucas O’Brien, and William Garrett - were born
more than two weeks later on Dec. 2.
John
O’Brien, M.D., perinatologist at Central Baptist Hospital and a
community faculty member in the UK College of Medicine, said the
opening of the womb was sewn and medication to stop labor was
given to the mother to prevent the other infants from being born
until they could develop further.
Sewing
up the opening of the womb in cases of multiple births is not
uncommon, O’Brien said, adding that he has found evidence of
only one other case involving quintuplets and four of those five
babies did not survive.
The
infants are the second set of quintuplets born in Kentucky this
year. The other quintuplets, from Louisville, were the first born
in the state in more than 80 years.
“To
be able to buy even two weeks time allowing the babies to mature
made an important difference,” said Nirmala Desai, M.D.,
neonatologist at UK Children’s Hospital.
Wainscott
went into active labor Dec. 2 and the four infants were delivered
by Caesarean section by a team of more than 20 physicians, nurses
and other health care staff, Desai said.
“It
was an exemplary team effort,” O’Brien said.
On
Tuesday, Desai reported that all of the infants were responding
well to treatment and one infant had been taken off a respirator.
“They
are very stable and are doing quite well for their gestational
age,” Desai said.
Wainscott
and her husband Milton, also have a son, Cody, 10.
