Mother-of-13 Annegret Raunigk from Berlin, Germany, stunned the world when she announced she had undergone fertility treatment at a clinic in Ukraine and was expecting four children. The nation – and the world – was torn between admiration for her stamina and bewilderment at how she would cope with them.
But one year on, the four babies – who each came into the world on May 19, 2015, weighing little more than a 2lb bag of sugar – are now all fighting fit with a normal weight for their age of around 18lbs each.
Doctors were extremely concerned at the time that the very premature babies would not survive, with tiny baby girl Neeta weighing just 1lb 7oz when she was born. Neeta’s three brothers were almost as small – with Bence weighing 1lb 8oz, Fjonn 1lb 10oz, and Dries 2lb 2oz – and the severely underweight babies had to be kept in incubators for the first week of their lives. Experts warned that, even if they did pull through, they could suffer lifelong health problems, including lung, intestinal, eye, and brain complaints.
But Professor Christoph Buhrer has confirmed: “All have developed well, they have grown wonderfully in a short time. The children were born through Cesarean section but all four are now as strong and as heavy as if they had been born naturally.” A few days ago, Neeta, Bence, Fjonn, and Dries – now weighing 5lb 11oz, 5lb 12oz, 5lb 13oz, and 6lb 3oz respectively – were examined and deemed fit enough to leave the hospital soon.
Professor Buhrer added: “Now they are ordinary children who want to go home to be looked after by their mother.” The children spent months in delicate health, connected to breathing tubes in incubators. Dries needed surgery four weeks ago after developing fluid on his brain, but he has recovered through a procedure which diverts excess cerebral fluid to his abdomen. Neeta, his sister, also underwent an operation shortly after birth to repair a hole in her bowel. Said the professor: “Dries has recovered well but he is going to need physiotherapy as a result of the intervention.”
Waiting to greet the retired English and Russian teacher is her daughter Leila, aged 10, who persuaded her to seek fertility treatment in Ukraine because she wanted a sibling to play with. Annegret was forced to travel to Kiev as doctors in Germany refused to give her I.V.F treatment because they were concerned that her body wouldn’t be strong enough to survive the stress of pregnancy and giving birth.
In Ukraine, doctors agreed to use a donated egg and donated sperm to artificially inseminate her – a process which is illegal in Germany. But even Annegret admitted to being ‘shocked’ when the ultrasound scan revealed she was carrying quadruplets. Said Annegret: “I sleep very little but I know I can take care of them,” who will move from Berlin to a country home 300 miles west of the city to raise her new brood.