On September 9, 2021, Eric and Kevin gave birth to identical triplet daughters. The girls were born in Cleveland Clinic Akron General thanks to their surrogate Akron, Ohio’s Maureen Farris. For Eric Portenga and his husband Kevin O’Neill, 2021 will be remembered as a whirlwind. Since getting married in 2016, they have done extensive studies on family planning choices. However, it wasn’t necessarily their intention to have three at once.
Maureen became pregnant on the first try, but IVF might occasionally require multiple efforts before pregnancy is achieved. Up until the discovery of two heartbeats, then three, everything went according to plan. In 2019, there were only 3,100 triplet births, according to Stephen Bacak, DO, a specialist in maternal-fetal me.dicine who delivered the triplets.
Of course, Maureen was horrified to discover she was carrying three infants. I distinctly recall being quite eager for the adventure. However, it was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done physically. the enlargement, the stretching, and the discomfort. Although I was never required to stay in bed, I often thought that my bed was the only place where I could truly feel at ease.
The infants would be less likely to have problems with a birth weight if they could wait until week 34 of their pregnancy, which is still early compared to a full-term pregnancy. The doctors at Cleveland Clinic Akron General, which took over her care when she was in her 21st week of pregnancy, decided that a C-section was necessary at week 35.
Although there were no significant difficulties during the births, a large team of clinicians and workers had been prepared for anything. At the moment of delivery, there could be a number of complications for the mother, such as post-partum hemorrhage, as well as complications for the newborns, such as breathing problems, according to Dr. Bacak.
The distribution process needed to be extremely well organized. Along with a sizable NICU staff, we had a maternal-fetal me.dicine delivery team with us in the delivery room. Everything went as smoothly as could be expected from a birth involving many deliveries.
