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Doctors and nurses from Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) delivered quadruplets as Mary Voelcker, of Kent County, Maryland, gave birth on November 1.
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The doctors and director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, William Sweeney, M.D., said this is the hospital's second quadruplet delivery. It is the thirteenth “multiples” delivery (three or more babies) in five years for the hospital. The last large multiple birth was quintuplets in 2008. In 2010, there were 313 quadruplet births in the U.S.
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“The procedure went very well. It was uncomplicated,” said Anthony Moorman, M.D., one of the OB/GYNs who delivered the babies. “The mother, babies and Dad are all doing well. It was very reassuring to hear each of those babies cry.” The procedure lasted approximately one hour Dr. Moorman said.
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“It took a team of 20 nurses and 6 additional staff members, including doctors, to complete the delivery and care for the babies. We arranged pre-assigned teams to attend to each baby,” added Betsey Snow, senior clinical director of women and children's services.
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The babies, two boys and two girls, were delivered over a two-minute period at starting at 1:53pm. Their weights range from 2 lbs. 6 oz. to 4 lbs. 10 oz. and lengths from 14.5 to 17 inches. Mrs. Voelcker delivered the children at 32 weeks and 4 days gestation. She had been hospitalized for two weeks prior to the delivery. Typically, single pregnancies last 40 weeks; for quadruplets, the average is 29.3 weeks.
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Dr. Moorman said standard operating procedures call for premature, high-risk births to be under the hospital's care for a period of time after birth. He said the Voelcker babies will remain in the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for the next few weeks.
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Voelcker's husband is a twin, so he expected the possibility of a multiple birth but was shocked to learn his wife was pregnant with quadruplets. The couple learned they were pregnant with quadruplets at an eight-week sonogram. The Voelcker's already have a three-year old son. “Considering the fact that they were born at 32 weeks, they're doing as well as we would expect,” said Henry Sobel, M.D., chair of the AAMC Women's and Children's Services department.
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AAMC is the second largest birthing facility in the state of Maryland with more than 5,300 babies born here in the last year. On average, 15 babies are delivered daily. More than 10,000 women and their children received care here last year.
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The hospital is designated with a Level III standing for obstetric and neonatal care. This designation by the Maryland Department of Health is reserved for hospitals that offer the highest degree of quality care for high-risk moms and high-risk newborns. The NICU is part of the hospital's Rebecca M. Clatanoff Pavilion at the Medical Park campus, a comprehensive program providing top-level maternity and neonatal care. The86-bed pavilion is home to all of AAMC's birth services, including a state-of-the-art labor and delivery unit, mother/baby unit, and lactation services.
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For more information, go to askAAMC.org/womens.
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