Teen mom surprises all with triplets

WHEN 17-YEAR-OLD Aarita Hosein started getting labour pains on Wednesday, her mother rushed her to the San Fernando General Hospital thinking that the teenager was going to deliver her first baby.

But, to their surprise and that of the attending medical staff, the teenager gave birth to a healthy set of triplets — one girl and two boys. The babies, who each weighed 1.3 kilogrammes, were born three weeks premature. Hosein, who delivered the first set of triplets for the year, has also made history being the youngest woman to give birth to triplets in the country, according to Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dr Jehan Ali. The birth was described as an exciting and wonderful experience for both the mother and the medical team, since they only realised she was having triplets after she gave birth to her first baby and the nurses realised there was still movement. An ultrasound was immediately performed and it revealed there were two babies waiting to be born. The three babies were successfully delivered without complications within an hour and five minutes.

“The first thing I said when they told me I had two more to deliver was ‘Oh God’. But it was a wonderful surprise and I thank God for them,” the relaxed and energetic looking Hosein told reporters from her bed at the maternity ward yesterday. A beaming Hosein, of St John Road, St Margarets Village, Claxton Bay, who seemed to be the youngest in the ward, said she had no clue that she was going to have more than one child. She said she had a normal pregnancy but felt “endless movement.” She said she attended the neighbourhood clinic and the doctor told her she was hearing one heart beat and she was having one baby.  Saying that she was not scared or nervous about having three babies, Hosein added: “I am really shocked and very happy.” Hosein, who lives with her 25-year-old husband, Ravi, and his parents, said she was confident she will be a good mother.

Her own mother Pamela Mohammed said these three babies were her first grandchildren and she felt “proud and anxious”. She said her daughter got married at such a young age because she was in love. “I intend to play an active role in the lives of my grandchildren,” the smiling woman said. She thanked the medical team who included Doctors Natasha Mohammed, Bernard Sinanan, nurses Mohanee, Daniel and Dickie. It was a first time experience for Dr Mohammed who said she felt elated about the delivery. She admitted she was confused for the first two or three seconds when they realised she was having triplets.

Describing the mother as a co-operative and nice patient, an emotional nurse Daniel said she felt as though she was actually having the babies. Ali assured that even though the tiny babies were three weeks premature, they were born healthy and were being kept in a single incubator. He said the triplets would not be discharged soon because the doctors have to closely monitor the babies’ development. Without an ultrasound being performed, Ali said it was not unusual for a doctor not to detect a multiple pregnancy because babies do not have a constant heartbeat. He said the rate at which babies’ hearts beat can fluctuate. Saying that the babies' father, Ravi, did not have a permanent job, he called on corporate businessmen to assist the young couple in this “special and wonderful time”.