A family from Lower Saxony had four-egg quadruplets several weeks early, but healthy and happy. The premature babies were born in the perinatal center, which is part of the Asklepios Clinic in Hamburg-Altona. The children were born on March 14th and the hospital confirmed the birth in a statement. The moment of birth was “really unique,” said senior physician Claudia Kern.
The clinic says the mother and children are “in stable condition”. Three boys and a girl named Aman, Awan, Arina and Arin join four other siblings. The family wants to remain anonymous.
A 15-person team of midwives, pediatricians and pediatric nurses looked after the newborns and their parents. The birth was actually planned for a week later, but after the membranes ruptured, labor began and the children were taken by caesarean section. This fits with the medical team’s experience: “The children decide when they want to come – there can be appointments that have already been planned, but the children often come before us,” says Kern, according to the statement.
A pregnancy usually lasts 40 weeks. If children are born before the 38th week of pregnancy, they are called premature babies. From the 28th week onwards, the chances of survival for premature babies are already 95 percent. The “Altona Quartet” was born in the 30th week and the children weigh between 1,170 and 1,400 grams. The risk of a cesarean section is the same as that of the birth of only children, according to the clinic.
“The children grew evenly, the care in the womb was exceptionally good up until birth,” said prenatal medicine expert Wolf-Henning Becker, according to the clinic. “Fortunately, in this case, the conditions were optimal: each child had its own amniotic sac and placenta – and the expectant mother was fine the entire time.”
More than three babies at once are rarely born in Germany. According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 795,000 children were born in 2021. Of these, 13,600 women had multiples and only four had at least quadruplets.
Sources: Asklepios, AOK, Federal Statistical Office
