Idlib – Samah Alloush
The Shafaq specialized hospital for obstetrics and gynecology in Maarrat Misrin, north of Idlib, witnessed a rare medical case of childbirth, where a woman underwent a cesarean section on May 18 and gave birth to six children, including one stillborn.
Gynecologist Faten Zahra, who performed the cesarean, stated that carrying sextuplets is very rare and is often associated with assisted reproductive techniques and artificial insemination. According to statistics, the incidence of natural sextuplet pregnancies is less than one case per 55 million births.
She noted that this is not the first such case in northern Syria, as several cases have occurred before, including one in 2017 when Dr. Zahra delivered a similar case of quintuplets (four boys and one girl) at a hospital in the city of al-Dana.
Dr. Zahra told Enab Baladi that the patient arrived at the hospital in labor with amniotic fluid leakage. Upon examination, it was found that the age of the fetuses did not exceed 31 weeks and there was a disruption in the heartbeat of one of the fetuses, which required emergency intervention. The patient was prepared and necessary tests were conducted, and blood units were secured to compensate for any potential blood loss after delivery, which is a common complication in cases of multiple pregnancies.
The operating room was prepared, and the neonatal care unit and pediatricians were mobilized, attempting to secure incubators for the number of fetuses. The cesarean section was successfully performed without complications during surgery, resulting in the extraction of five live infants and one stillborn fetus that had died two months prior at 24 weeks gestation. After the surgery, the patient was placed under strict monitoring to prevent any bleeding.
Sextuplet infants often suffer from complications related to premature birth, such as breathing difficulties and low birth weight, and typically require support, resuscitation, and admission to a neonatal intensive care unit.
The doctor indicated that the general condition of the children is “acceptable,” as pediatricians supervised their resuscitation immediately after delivery, but they could not provide more than two incubators in the hospital due to the pressure on incubator admissions and the lack of available spaces in hospitals due to the closure of many medical facilities.
No available incubators
According to the doctor, coordination with other hospitals was necessary to secure spaces for three infants, and they were transferred to multiple hospitals amid the health facility crisis in Idlib and the closure of several hospitals without alternative plans to accommodate newborns in incubators.
For his part, the administrative director of Shafaq specialized hospital, Mahmoud al-Qaddour, confirmed that the hospital is currently facing a shortage of support, particularly in medications and consumables.
He added that support will end for the children’s department by the end of May, while support for the obstetrics department will cease by the end of June, signaling a potential catastrophe and a threat of total hospital closure, with no promises or hopes for the return of support and ensuring the hospital can continue providing services to dozens of patients daily.
The specialized maternal hospital for obstetrics and children in Idlib city is experiencing pressure beyond its capacity in terms of the number of patients and daily medical cases, due to the cessation of support for many hospitals and health centers in Idlib and its countryside, posing a risk to the health of mothers and newborns.
A rare case: Sextuplets born in Idlib Enab Baladi.
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