Quintuplets born to a woman without fertility treatment in Pakistan.
Overview
abstract
OBJECTIVE: To report a case of quintuplets born to a woman without fertility treatment along with a discussion on the incidence and management of related cases. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: Bolan Medical College, Quetta, Pakistan. PATIENT(S): The quintuplets and their mother. INTERVENTION(S): Perinatal care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Perinatal morbidity and mortality in multiple gestation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Quintuplets are a rare occurrence. This is even rarer if they are born to a woman without fertility treatment. The survival of the infants is even rarer. We here report a case of a woman who presented in her third trimester of gestation and gave birth to five babies through normal delivery; all of them are alive and doing well along with the mother of the babies. The learning points and issues for discussion in this case are fourfold. We present, first, an account of surviving quintuplets and their occurrence; second, the medical issues involved in the management and care of such cases; third, the psychologic and social consequences involved in these scenarios; and, finally, the plight and difficulties faced by a woman from a poor socioeconomic background along with the dilemma faced by a practicing clinician in a developing country.
