Dubai doctors deliver healthy quadruplets at 29 weeks

Doctors performed the Emirati woman's fifth Caesarean delivery to give her three girls and one boy

Roaya Tawakol, far right, with her husband, medical team and four babies, all delivered by caesarean at 29 weeks. Photo: Medcare Women & Children Hospital

Doctors in Dubai have delivered healthy quadruplets via Caesarean at 29 weeks.

The three girls and one boy, AlAnoud, Shamma, Kawthar and Hussain, were born at Medcare Women & Children Hospital.

The babies ranged in weight from 0.9kg to 1kg at birth and all four infants have their own team of specialists looking after their needs.

One of the doctors involved in the procedure, Dr Shiva Harikrishnan, Senior Consultant Obstetrician and Gynecologist, said that nearly a quarter of all quadruplet pregnancies can experience a loss.

“Quadruplet pregnancies are very rare, 1 in 700,000 pregnancies, and they come with a set of complications with more than a 25 per cent risk of spontaneous loss before birth,” he said.

“We took all necessary precautions to minimise this risk and the babies were able to reach 29 weeks.”

The mother, 39-year-old Emirati Roaya Tawakol, said she had every faith in the doctor who has now delivered all eight of her children.

“Knowing that I was pregnant with four babies was great news, and I was rooted to Dr Shiva,” she said after the delivery.

“I was very confident that I will be in safe hands, in fact, it is magical that I had all my eight babies delivered by one doctor, Dr Shiva. Now that they are born, I don’t know what other way to describe it but to say it is amazing and such a blessing.”

All four babies remain in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to gain weight, improve their breathing ability, and learn to feed from a bottle.

“Premature babies may have prolonged pauses in their breathing that will improve with time,” said Dr Issam Abdalbari, Lead Neonatal Consultant at the hospital.

“That’s why it is very important to have a team of highly experienced professionals, with the right skill sets, to deal with such premature and complicated cases.

“The four babies are doing well … for babies born at 29 weeks, they are in good hands.”