The unusual became almost routine in the delivery room as three women had nine children in the space of 24 hours.
By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
The Sheba Medical Center’s delivery room in Tel Aviv was hopping Tuesday as three sets of triplets were born, one after another (after another), reported Israel Hayom on Wednesday.
The babies, who weighed between 32 ounces (900 grams) to 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms), were whisked immediately into the premature infants’ ward, with two who were in more serious condition put on ventilators in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Their mothers had held their own until weeks 30, 31 and 32 respectively.
Dr. Tzippi Strauss, head of the neonatal and preemie department at Sheba, told Israel Hayom that some of the women had been taken care of at Sheba’s department for high-risk pregnancies, “but we sure didn’t plan that all of them would give birth on the same day. It was a unique sight,” she said.
The fathers showed off their right wrists, which were wrapped in three armbands apiece – one for each child.
‘Miracle from heaven’
One of them, David, said, “I think that getting a gift like this is a miracle from heaven. It’s very exciting. It’s taking me time to absorb it, but I’m sure that we’ll manage with everything. I’d like to thank the whole staff, and God.”
Expenses for diapers, formula and clothes can be staggering in such cases, of course, but the Israeli government helps out quite a bit, especially in the beginning.
A “birth grant” is about NIS 13,000, and according to Israeli Social Security, when a couple has triplets, they will also receive about NIS 120,000 in child support over the first 20 months.
The monthly allotments gradually decrease from NIS 11,000 at birth to NIS 3,000 by the time the child is a year old. Maternity leave, which is currently 14 weeks long, stretches to 20 weeks – three extra weeks for each additional child.
According to the report, last year 77 women in Israel gave birth to triplets.
It is appropriate that the three sets of triplets came into the world this month. World Premature Day is celebrated on Nov. 17 in dozens of countries around the world.
Its purpose is to raise awareness about preterm births and the more prevalent health problems these tiny tots are likely to suffer, especially at the start of their lives.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 15 million babies are born preterm each year, about a tenth of all births around the globe.