The couple said it was never an option to sacrifice some of the six fetuses.They would not consider "selective reduction," a procedure that essentially aborts one or more of the fetuses to improve the outcome of the others.
- "We asked them not to even discuss it with us again, we can't play God."
- They knew the babies were already alive. There was no way they could do that.
- "None of them required a full-blown resuscitation," upon delivery.
Couple Rejected "Selective Reduction
Tina and Ron Otten underwent fertility treatments to conceive their two older daughters, and used the identical method when they wanted to conceive for a third time. The Otten's said they never dreamed the same injected fertility drug, Gonadotropins, would result in a pregnancy of six babies."They told us we could have multiple births," Tina Otten said. "We never imagined six."
The Granite City, Illinois couple said it was never an option to sacrifice some of the fetuses to allow growth and development of the others. They said they would not consider "selective reduction," a procedure that essentially aborts one or more of the fetuses to improve the outcome of the others.
Their doctor, Sue Moore, says she discussed the option with the Ottens, but calls it a controversial procedure that isn't offered at St. John's or any hospital in Missouri.
The Ottens rejected the idea of ending the lives of their babies before birth.
"We asked them not to even discuss it with us again," Ron Otten told a Belleville, Illinois newspaper. "We can't play God."
"They talked and cried over it a lot," Johnnie Reckert, Tina's father, told the St. Louis
Post- Dispatch newspaper. "They knew the babies were already alive. There was no way they could do that."
"They talked and cried over it a lot," Johnnie Reckert, Tina's father, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper. "They knew the babies were already alive. There was no way they could do that." Moore, a maternal fetal medicine specialist at St. John's who became Tina Otten's personal physician six weeks into the pregnancy, said there were six ovulations and six separate conceptions, as opposed to some of the eggs splitting.
Their weights range from 2 to 3 pounds. "They're vigorous kids," Mike Maurer, neonatologist, said. "None of them required a full-blown resuscitation," upon delivery.
The babies, Jacob, Isabella, Madison, Joshua, Tyler and Rileigh, were considered at high risk for circulatory and respiratory problems because they were born prematurely at 30 weeks, early April, 2004.
Five of the sextuplets are now home in Illinois, where they soon hope to be joined by their brother Jacob.
Jacob remains at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, but doctors are hopeful he will be able to come home soon.
Tina Otten, the mother of the brood, says that her babies appear to be adjusting well to life outside the hospital.
The parents of the sextuplets and their caregivers add that the babies already exhibit distinct personalities. Isabella smiles constantly, while Jacob is fussy. Joshua and Tyler are quiet, and Madison wants to be held frequently. Rileigh experienced trouble breathing, but he appears better now.
"We are doing pretty well with our schedule so far," Otten said in a written statement. "We just have to adjust to the four-hour feeding schedule now that five of the babies are home."
-14 June 2004