Posted on March 18, 2004 at 5:30 p.m.
WHAT:
Kevin Webb’s first thought — as the only male in a family of eight — is that the Webb home in Guin, Alabama, may need a second bathroom. Kevin and his wife Christine are the proud parents of four baby girls born at UAB Hospital last night. And big sisters Amber, 12, and Calina, 10, couldn’t be more excited.
The naturally-conceived quadruplets were born between 6:13 and 6:16 p.m. C.S.T. They ranged in weight from 2 pounds, 3.25 ounces to 2 pounds, 4.5 ounces. Maternal-fetal medicine specialist John Hauth, M.D., delivered the babies and immediately handed them off to four separate teams of specialized physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists, led by neonatologists Wally Carlo, M.D., and Reese Oliver, M.D.
Hauth, an expert in high-risk pregnancies and chairman of the UAB Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said Mrs. Webb is in good condition, and has just visited her girls in the ICU nursery for the first time.
Webb has been followed closely throughout her pregnancy by maternal-fetal medicine specialists at UAB and has received individualized care in UAB’s High-Risk Pregnancy Clinic. UAB’s maternal-fetal medicine faculty specialize in treating women at high risk of preterm delivery to optimize birth outcomes. Christine Webb has been hospitalized at UAB since Feb. 24 in order to receive more extensive treatment and extend pregnancy as much as possible.
“We couldn’t be more excited for her,” Hauth said. “This is an amazingly rare event, with only about one in a million births occurring as naturally-conceived quadruplets. Even more rare, only about 10 percent of those women get to this point — carrying all four to 30 weeks and delivering with virtually no medical complications. We are extremely pleased with how well they are doing.”
The Webb quadruplets, born just five hours shy of 30 weeks gestation, are listed in serious condition in UAB’s Level III Regional Newborn Intensive Care Unit (RNICU), but are doing remarkably well, according to doctors.
“Right now all of the babies are breathing on their own and none have any immediate critical health needs,” said Carlo, Division Director of Neonatology in the UAB Department of Pediatrics. “For now, our treatment goals include supportive care and making sure they are getting proper IV nutrition.”
Carlo noted that the first and most critical step in treating premature newborns is establishing ventilation and getting neonates to breathe on their own. UAB’s RNICU is part of the NIH Neonatal Research Network, and is established as one of three benchmark centers in the country for respiratory care in neonates.
WHO:
| Baby Girl #1 | Emily Morgan Webb |
2 lbs. 4 oz. |
6:13 p.m. |
| Baby Girl #2 | Marley Alaina Webb |
2 lbs. 3.25 oz. |
6:13 p.m. |
| Baby Girl #3 | Lindsey Reagan Webb |
2 lbs. 4.25 oz. |
6:14 p.m. |
| Baby Girl #4 | Sydney Michaela Webb |
2 lbs. 4.5 oz. |
6:16 p.m. |
Kevin, 39, and Christine, 31, live in the small town of Guin, Alabama, located in the northwest corner of the state. The couple have been married for seven years. Also welcoming the Webb babies are Kevin’s daughter LaShae, 17, and son Blake, 15.
NOTE:
We are UAB Hospital or University of Alabama at Birmingham. Please use UAB on second reference. We are not to be confused with the University of Alabama, which is a separate, independent campus.
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