What It's Really Like to Give Birth to Triplets (or Quadruplets)

Becoming pregnant with multiples depends on a variety of factors. Rates are higher for women who are over 30 at the time of conception, have a family history of multiples, or are undergoing fertility treatments, which range from hormonal injections to increase fertility to artificial insemination. When there is more than one baby in a woman's uterus, mother and children are all at a higher risk of complications — from gestational diabetes to birth defects. And the physical demands are, well, multiplied. Three women talked to Cosmopolitan.com about their pregnancies, deliveries and life with triplets — and quadruplets.

How old are you?

Woman A: Forty.

Woman B: Forty.

Woman C: Forty.

How old were you when you delivered your babies?

Woman A: Thirty-eight.

Woman B: Thirty-three.

Woman C: Thirty-one.

How many babies have you delivered?

Woman A: Triplets.

Woman B: I had my first child via emergency C-section 10 years ago, then triplets three-and-a-half years later.

Woman C: I delivered my first daughter via C-section 20 months before I had quadruplets.

How did you get pregnant with your multiples?

Woman A: We tried intrauterine insemination (IUI) and two rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF). I didn't get pregnant until the third round of IVF after three years of trying. It was one of the hardest things to go through.

Woman B: I was told by a fertility doctor after he ran tests that I would never conceive another child with my own eggs. On my third IVF try, I decided to put all my eggs in one basket, so to speak. I placed four embryos in my uterus, and three took.

Woman C: After multiple miscarriages, it was determined that due to an autoimmune disorder, I would need to take a blood thinner to sustain a pregnancy. We managed my menstrual cycles with a different medication to ensure that I would ovulate. This caused my multiples.

How did you find out the news?

Woman A: Ultrasound. I had a feeling I was having twins, because I was so nauseous so early on. So we were somewhat prepared for the possibility of more than one. When the nurse said, "Oh wait, there is a third," the room stopped for us. We heard people talking, but honestly my husband and I were in so much shock that it took us a while to realize what happened.

Woman B: I knew I was pregnant and that it was more than one baby right away. I could feel a lot happening in my uterus after about four weeks. At six weeks I went in to get an ultrasound and they found three embryos with very strong beating hearts in my uterus.

Woman C: I took a home pregnancy test. Later, at the doctor's office, an ultrasound showed four heartbeats.

What did you think when you found out you were having multiple babies at once?

Woman A: To be very honest, we were scared at first. I'm 5-foot-2 and [of] pretty small stature. I thought, How could I possibly carry three children? We also found out that we were having identical twins in the mix, and that was considered a higher risk than having three separate sacks with three different babies.

Woman B: At first, I was really excited. I was excited to be having more children after a long struggle with miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy. I was excited to be giving my 3-year-old daughter siblings. A couple of weeks later, at my first doctor's appointment, I became very scared about carrying that many children.

Woman C: It was hard to believe. Honestly, at the time I didn't panic about having four babies because I knew the odds were high that they wouldn't all make it through the first trimester.

How did your partner react to the news that you were having multiples?

Woman A: I remember his first words were, "Oh, honey, we can't get that nice car we wanted. We have to get an ugly van." I almost kicked him. He was pretty calm and excited about it all. Although later on, he did say that he felt a great amount of responsibility to provide for his family.

Woman B: My husband was absolutely a huge support system for me. He was very excited about having triplets and very positive throughout my pregnancy.

Woman C: My husband was in shock from the very first ultrasound. It took him several weeks to process that this was really happening.

What did the sonogram look like?

Woman A: It's pretty unreal to see three babies inside you. I kept worrying that they didn't have enough room.

Woman B: It looked like three absolutely perfect kidney beans with huge beating hearts of gold.

Woman C: Four little blinking spots. It was amazing.

What does it feel like to have so many babies growing inside of you?

Woman A: It's really weird feeling three babies moving around at once.

Woman B: It feels very uncomfortable and painful most of the pregnancy. It feels strange and amazing having three little humans kicking and moving around in your abdomen at the same time.

Woman C: Crowded! Painful. And so amazing.

Could you tell them apart in utero?

Woman A: I knew each of them by how they kicked. My little girl always kicked first and the boys would follow. There isn't a lot of room, but they managed to move around a lot.

Woman B: We identified each of them and named them A, B, and C early on in the pregnancy so I always knew where they were. They don't have much room to move so I knew they weren't going anywhere far from their original location.

Woman C: Each baby is identified right away and it's too crowded for them to switch spots.

What kinds of things did you have to change about your life to accommodate this many children at once?

Woman A: We learned that getting the nursery ready wasn't the most important thing at the moment. It was keeping the babies inside me as long as possible. I went from having the grand idea of a luxurious, grand nursery to buying everything from Ikea.

Woman B: The first thing I did was buy a minivan. The second thing I did was hire a nanny to help me juggle three infants at once.

Woman C: I still give my kids a hard time because we had to give up our master bedroom in order to have a room big enough to fit all their cribs.

Did you feel afraid or overwhelmed?

Woman A: I felt great relief at every milestone we reached. When we found out that we were in the safe zone for one risk, it was a relief. But I never felt overwhelmed until the day before my C-section. I had spent years trying to get pregnant, and then spent my entire pregnancy trying to keep the babies safe. But it hit me all of a sudden: How would I be able to take care of three babies?

Woman B: I was scared that they wouldn't all be healthy. I was scared about having to raise that many children.

Woman C: At first I was only afraid of losing them. Immediately, everything we did or thought about had to do with having a healthy pregnancy and caring for my 1-year-old through it all.

Were you worried about your health and theirs at any time during the pregnancy?

Woman A: The identical twins have a higher risk for twin-to-twin transfusion and the possibility of their umbilical cord becoming entangled. In fact, we delivered early because doctors thought one of the twins wasn't growing.

Woman B: I was never worried about my health. I knew I was strong and could carry those babies and be fine. I was constantly worried about the health of my babies. I didn't know if I would deliver them too early or if they were all going to come out healthy.

Woman C: I was constantly worried. From the very first moment, everything was based on having a healthy pregnancy and carrying them as long as possible.

Were there any complications during pregnancy?

Woman A: Looking at the big picture of all the complications that could have happened, I feel blessed. I had gestational diabetes and that was about it.

Woman B: At 30 weeks, I went into labor and was put in the hospital on bed rest. I spent the next three-and-a-half weeks on bed rest. Other than that, I had a very healthy normal pregnancy.

Woman C: At about 28 weeks, I suffered from tachycardia, which is an overly rapid heart rate. I was rushed to the ER and was being prepped for an emergency C-section. Thankfully, the doctors were able get my heart issue under control with medication and the babies didn't need to be delivered.

Did you have to go on bed rest?

Woman A: I was put on home bed rest early on. Then, I spent two months in the hospital on bed rest. People joked that I would get lots of rest. Being on bed rest is difficult. It's not natural for a human being to lie down for that long.

Woman B: I went into labor at 30 weeks and was put on hospital bed rest until I delivered three-and-a-half weeks later. It was absolutely a relief to be on bed rest and have nurses and doctors take care of my babies and me around the clock. I was more comfortable in the hospital because of the reclining beds.

Woman C: What I was allowed to do was limited from the very beginning. I wasn't on mandatory bed rest at any point for more than a couple of days. After about 18 weeks though, most things just weren't possible.

What was the most difficult part of pregnancy?

Woman A: It was really the hardest thing I've ever gone through. Being on bed rest for that long really [affects] me still to this day. I think if it weren't for the children inside me, I would have been depressed.

Woman B: The pregnancy was difficult from the beginning. I was terribly sick for about 20 weeks. Then after 20 weeks, I was so large that I could hardly move and I was uncomfortable all of the time.

Woman C: It went as well as a quadruple pregnancy can go. We only had the one major scare. Everything else was the same as most women experience, just a little more intense.

Did you deliver early?

Woman A: I delivered at 33 weeks and four days. Our goal was 34 weeks.

Woman B: I delivered at 33.5 weeks. Most triplet pregnancies do not carry past 34 weeks.

Woman C: I delivered at 34 weeks. That was our goal.

Were there extra doctors on the team to monitor all the babies?

Woman A: Every day, I had a visit from an ob-gyn and high-risk prenatal doctors.

Woman B: There were doctors and lots of nurses on hand. I don't even know how many.

Woman C: Each baby had two nurses. There were so many people in there I really couldn't count.

Did you ever think what you would do if one or more of them didn't survive?

Woman A: I think that was the hardest part for me. There were definitely risks. It was something I tried not to think about.

Woman B: If I am being totally honest, when I found out I had three heartbeats at six weeks along, part of me hoped that one wouldn't make it. I was very fearful of having three babies at the same time. As a little more time went on, I was terrified something would happen to one of my babies. I loved them so much as they were growing in me and couldn't bear to part with any of them.

Woman C: I didn't allow myself to think about it. Losing a baby isn't made any easier just because there are more of them.

Describe the process of delivery?

Woman A: I had a C-section. It was Labor Day weekend, and our biggest concern was that we would get a "D" team of doctors. But, it wasn't so. My OB was there to deliver, and the entire team was amazing.

Woman B: At 33.5 weeks, after a very difficult night of pain where my son was lodged up under my rib cage, my perinatologist came into the room and said I had carried them long enough.

Woman C: When we met our 34-week goal, I went in for a scheduled C-section. They seemed so tiny to me – 4 pounds, 11 ounces each– but to the NICU nurses, they were huge.

Did you get to hold them all at once right away or did they take them away for tests?

Woman A: I did hold them one-by-one. But I was throwing up as my second child came out, so it was very brief.

Woman B: I was amazed and surprised that I got each of my babies placed in my arms before they took them away to examine them.

Woman C: After each baby was delivered, they would hold him/her up next to me for just a minute. Then they had to be whisked away to make sure they were stable. Plus, I was in the middle of a major surgery.

Did you or the babies experience any complications during or after delivery?

Woman A: No.

Woman B: No complications during the delivery at all. The only interesting thing that happened is that it took the doctor a while to get my son out since he was lodged so tightly up under my ribs.

Woman C: Our only boy was on a respirator for about 12 hours because of his premature lungs, but he stabilized quickly.

Did the experience make you want more children or no more ever again?

Woman A: I would say that if I were younger and able to, I would love one more.

Woman B: I signed a document to give the doctor's permission to tie my tubes during the C-section so I knew without a doubt that I didn't want any more children.

Woman C: Five is enough! The overwhelming ride that is having four babies at once didn't leave much time for the thought of more children.

What have you had to sacrifice to accommodate these kids?

Woman A: I think like with any parent, we sacrifice our time together alone for the kids. I've probably sacrificed a lot of my health for them, and my career as well. It was a big change, but it's all worth it.

Woman B: I have had to sacrifice a lot of my freedom. I don't get to travel as much as I would love to. My husband has turned down three great promotional opportunities for work because the travel would be too much. Most of my life revolves around my children and taking care of their needs. Some days the rewards seem like a great trade off for this parental sacrifice, and some days they do not.

Woman C: Anything that has changed or that I go without is so trivial in comparison to what I've been blessed with. I'd like a really large bedroom of my own, but that's not a sacrifice. It's just a trade.

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