New Dads on the Block

Good news: Matt and I are eleven weeks along with healthy twins! 🙂

Two healthy babies is wonderful news, of course. However, we were pregnant with triplets initially. Our medical team in India let us know their concerns about the health and well-being of the three babies, and our gestational carrier, due to the multiple pregnancy. Their concern was great enough that they let us know they felt it medically necessary to reduce the pregnancy from triplets to twins.

Matt and I were, of course, saddened by this news, and talked a lot about it. We did plenty of reading and research about the subject and found some important information about reducing a pregnancy from triplets to twins.

Carrying three babies to term would more than double a woman’s risk of developing the most severe diseases of pregnancy, such as preeclampsia. The average triplet is born two months premature, significantly raising the risk of disabilities such as cerebral palsy and of lifelong damage to the infant’s lungs, eyes, brain and other organs. By reducing the pregnancy to twins, [there is a] decrease in the risk of severe prematurity. (Washington Post)

We were also able to find medical journal articles, and studies, about reducing triplets to twins.

First trimester multifetal pregnancy reduction can be performed in order to decrease the risk of complications associated with multiple gestations. These complications include extreme prematurity before 32 weeks, low birthweight infants, fetal death in utero, high levels of perinatal mortality, and high levels of perinatal morbidity, which includes cerebral palsy and necrotizing enterocolitis. (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology)

What we read led us to believe that our medical team came to the right conclusion.

On top of all that, our gestational surrogate is five feet tall, which makes it obvious that carrying three babies to full term would be impossible. Not only that, but it could put our surrogate’s health at risk as well, from more minor health concerns, to potentially life-threatening complications. Matt and I are so grateful to our surrogate for carrying our children for us–more than we can ever even express–and it only seems right to do everything we can to assure her health, as well as the health of our children.

Matt and I spent a quiet weekend together, sometimes somber and still doing a lot of thinking, but came to a place of acceptance with what our doctors felt was medically necessary. This week we’re working to focus on the fact that we have two healthy babies on the way. We couldn’t be more thrilled about that, and we’re so excited to meet them this spring.

–Josh