9-Day Delay Of 2 Triplets' Births Called Medical Miracle -- Infants Given More Time To Develop, Gain Weight

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Joanne March delivered the first of her triplets, a fragile 2-pound, 1-ounce boy, on April 30. His brother and sister came later - a remarkable 45 days later.

Dr. Keith Williams, who oversaw the two-stage delivery at Grace Hospital, calls it a medical miracle that shows doctors can increase chances of survival by delaying delivery, giving infants more time to develop and gain weight.

"You can't generalize to every case but I think what we have learned is that we can attempt delay when it is necessary," Williams said.

"We can attempt to keep fetuses (inside the mother) for longer periods of time."

"All of them are doing well," hospital spokesman Ted Haugen said yesterday.

The Marches' case represents the longest lag time on record in the birth dates of triplets, Grace Hospital officials said. The longest previous delay occurred in 1991 in Baltimore, where there was an 11-day delay between deliveries, they said. In that case and this one, the babies were delivered vaginally rather than by Caesarean section, and all three survived.

"The biggest thing that surprised me was Joanna's patience," Williams said at a news conference, adding that he also was surprised "we could inhibit contractions and that we could eliminate infection for as long as we did."

The waiting was hard, said March, 29, a dental hygienist from Kelowna in southcentral British Columbia.

"The first six weeks were pretty tense because everybody thought for sure we'd lose them," she said. "Then there was a period you go through where they are maybe handicapped. The farther along we got the more comfortable we felt.

"And now everything's worked out well. We're very proud, proud, proud parents."

March was admitted to a hospital in Kelowna on March 24, about 22 weeks into her pregnancy and on the brink of delivering triplets, which occur about once every 8,000 live births.

She was transferred to Grace Hospital, where Williams led a medical team that tried to delay the birth. March was ordered to stay in bed and given drugs to prevent labor.

On April 30, baby Clayton was born - 10 weeks early. Using drugs, doctors were then able to stop her labor. A regimen of strict bed rest and medication resumed, Williams said.

Doctors decided Monday to deliver the remaining babies three weeks before full term. March delivered a boy who weighed 4 pounds, 1 ounce and a girl weighing 4 pounds, 13 ounces. All three were in a special-care nursery yesterday.

Clayton, who now weighs more than 3 pounds, is being treated for lung problems.

"It's not unusual for premature babies to have underdeveloped lungs," Haugen said.

The two infants born this week "are a little bit premature but they're both fine. They're basically in there just for a little bit of support and observation at this point," he said.