Quintuplets - a feat to celebrate

by Dhaneshi YATAWARA and Asela KURULUWANSA

In 1934 quintuplets were a sensation. Born on May 28 that year the Dionne quintuplets, the five sisters born in Corbeil, Ontario were known as the first to survive infancy and each child had weighed less than two pounds. The five sisters, Annette, Cecile, Yvonne, Marie and Emilie miraculously survived not only their infancy but a chaotic childhood too. Growing up in a separate hospital building specially built for them which had been famously known as the 'Quintland' those days; they were a tourist attraction. These bright-eyed little girls grew up with public shows and experiments. Today 3 are surviving and 2 died earlier as young women. Speaking to media during a special session in 1997, Cecile has said that she learnt the word doctor before mother.

As reported those days, after nine years and a bitter custody fight, the girls moved back with their parents and their other siblings. Accordingly they have lived at home until they were 18, after which they have broken off almost all contact with their parents.

The blessed parents

Yet today, except for becoming a news simply due to its rarity, quints never would have faced such a calamity. The newly born quints from Kandy were of that rare breed. Yet the story of the death of one of the three boys, happened three days ago, was indeed a sad story.

The sorrow of the mother is something that we will never really understand. Dilini Rasangika Shyamanthi, the 29-year-old-mother who gave birth to the quints on October 15 is still a golden mum. The father, Shilantha Wijepala, feeling the indescribable sorrow of losing one baby, is carrying on the huge responsibility of caring for his two daughters and sons. According to news published the baby died being underweight. They will miss him today and in the years to come – yet, the mark they carved in the annals of history of the Kandy General Hospital will never fade out.

Dilini is the second mother in the known history of Sri Lanka to give birth to quintuplets and the first for the Kandy General Hospital.

Married three years ago, Dilini dreamt to become a mother and with her fortune today she is the mother of four - two daughters and two sons. She was longing for nearly two years.

Dilini and Shilantha sought help of the modern medicine for their dream of a child. With medical treatment Dilini conceived with five babies. “With these treatments such instances are possible,” said obstetrics and gynaecology specialist surgeon Kapila Gunawardena. Dr Kapila Gunawardena was treating Dilini during her pregnancy and still continues to treat her. “Normally in many developed countries only two or three foetuses are allowed to grow and the rest are removed at the very initial stages. This is in order to have children with good health. Yet in Sri Lankan culture we tend to bring up all foetuses,” Gunawardena explained. According to Dr. Gunawardena five growing up foetuses can make the uterus to expand more. “Following the childbirth there is a possibility for the mother to face haemorrhage. At these instances special medical care is essential,” Dr. Gunawaradena said.

Dilini became special to the hospital staff. She got admitted to the hospital in end September due to several discomforts she experienced as the babies were growing. She was stepping on to the seventh month of her pregnancy. On October 15 morning Dilini was showing changes. Doctors’ decision was to take her in for a C –section. By around 7.30 am she was taken in to the operation theatre.

The babies have been in five amniotic sacs and the team managed to take all five babies out in a half an hour operation. With surgeons, doctors, nurses and assistants a total of 30 members were in the surgical team for Dilini and her babies. Included in the team lead by Specialist and Surgeon Dr. Kapila Gunawardena were Paediatric specialists Dr. K. Epitakumbura, Drs Mohomad Rishad, Pushpakanthan, Pradeep Kumarasinghe, Damayantha Wathuhewa, Pushpa Kumara, Manjula, Sumanath Dissanayake, Gayanth Rathnathilake, Lasanthi Jinadasa, Anuradha Chandrasiri, Janaka Somaratne. According to the doctors this is the first time in the history of Kandy Hospital that such a large number of medical staff were working on a C – section.

The first to come out to the world were the two daughters – the eldest was born at 7.45 am and the second was at 7.46 am and the third was born 30 seconds later. By 7.47 am the fourth was born and the fifth baby was at 7.49 am.

The children are under the care of Paediatric Specialist Doctor K. Epitakumbura. According to her two babies weighed one kilogram each and the rest were 950 grams, 850 grams and 500 grams. As the infants were underweight all five were immediately transferred to the neo-natal unit to specially treat for their premature state. According to the doctors they extract the mother's milk to feed the infants.

“We still cannot take the babies to the mother as their lungs need to fully develop. Since they are underweight they have problems in properly digesting the milk. So they still need to be in special care,” Doctor Epitakumbura said. Three babies are treated at the Kandy General Hospital and due to lack of space two babies were transferred to Sirimavo Bandaranaike Children's Hospital and Peradeniya Teaching Hospital.

“The day we were told that my wife was going to have quints, it was a joyful surprise as well as scary. These are rare instances and this was our first,” said the new father Shilantha Wijepala. “Dilini was working in a private company but for the safety of her pregnancy she quit the job,” Shilantha added.

Shilantha Wijepala, the father, has to look after his wife and kids in three hospitals and it is a tough task for a new father.

Today he is entitled for a special assistance from his work place. Working as an Executive in the Mobitel Pvt Ltd. each of Shilantha's babies will receive Rs.5,000 per month up to three years. Obviously it would be a great strength for the new parents.

“I'm feeling very happy that everyone is blessing my babies and their assistance is a great strength to all of us. I am really grateful to all of them,” Shilantha said.

It will be a huge challenge in the future for this father and mother to bring up four kids at once. Yet, as the nature blessed them with such a miracle they will happily face the future armed with their strength and courage.