September 19, 2000
WOMAN GIVES BIRTH TO OCTUPLETS
AN ITALIAN woman who had tried for years to conceive
and ended up carrying octuplets has given birth to the babies – but
two have died.
Marinella Mazzara, 31, from Sicily, was only in her 25th week of
pregnancy when she went into labour and the first baby, a girl, was
born naturally last week.
A boy was born on Sunday and doctors decided to carry out a
Caesarean Section to deliver the other six. Sadly two of the six
delivered together, a boy and a girl, died shortly after.
The six remaining babies, all weighing around 500 grammes (1.1lb)
each, are said to be doing relatively well in intensive care, given
their early birth.
The two boys and four girls have been named Michele, Girolamo,
Margherita, Rosa Maria, Marta and Connie.
Mrs Mazzara had started taking fertility drugs after she and her
husband tried for six years to conceive. Although she was advised to
consider selective termination to give some of the babies an improved
chance of living, she refused.
Are you expecting more than one baby? Visit our Twins
and Multiples discussion board or have a look at our range of information
about bringing up twins and multiples.
OTHER NEWS
- A British baby whose mother died of CJD is showing symptoms of
the disease. The 11-month-old girl is growing at half the normal
rate of a child her age and is showing other signs of the disease.
A check by trading standards officers in Leicester has found that
61% of car seats were fitted incorrectly. The most common faults were
too much slackness in the safety belt holding the seat in place and
incorrect positioning of the child in the seat.
