[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he chance of conceiving quadruplets naturally is one in 7,00,000 (seven lakhs).
The birth of twins in Nagaland is not uncommon but more multiples are not yet known in our land. So it was with a sense of wonder to read of another miracle—that quadruplet IVF (invitro fertilization) babies were born to a Naga couple in a city hospital in Dimapur five days ago. Bringing a baby into the world is hard enough, so it is hard to imagine bringing in all four not to speak of other multiples.
We all know what ‘excitement’ one new born can bring into a home, imagine what four will do.
All emotions, planning, confusion and budgeting will be multiplied four times!Then again for a nuclear family one growing child can be ‘joyously chaotic’ to put it mildly, just imagine dealing with four kids.
How will the parents decide on the names ? Which ancestor in the family will they take after in personality and character ?
There will be many firsts for the parents of the babies, a Naga couple who suddenly have their hands full after four years of a childless marriage.
Multiple births always attract attention and there is generally a great deal of fascination about the concept of more than one baby bring born at the same time. Bringing quadruplets into world is surely a matter of great joy but worry also is inherent. The parents have to consider the logistics of how to bring them up. The practicalities of raising four babies to adulthood can seem utterly overwhelming. One thing the parents need not worry unduly about is the kind of company the children will keep. If three is a crowd four will be company even a team for some sports such as tennis or badminton even!
A multiple birth occurs when more than one fetus is carried to term in a single pregnancy. Different names for multiple births are used, depending on the number of offspring. Twins are said to comprise 90% of multiple births. The remaining 10% comprise triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets, sextuplets, septuplets, octuplets, decaplets etc.
In a rare case, in 1984, a German woman gave birth to twins but one was White and one was Black, the reason being she had affairs with two different American soldiers posted in erstwhile West Germany. This appeared in the news world-wide with one magazine headline “Apartheid in the womb?”
We can only wish our Naga couple to take things slowly at first and to allow the news to settle down, one steady day at a time.
