In most cases, triplets share the same birthday. But in China, a baby girl born on Christmas Day had to wait for two days for her two younger sisters to arrive.
The set of identical triplets, born at just 30 weeks, were delivered 47 hours apart because their mother’s contractions suddenly stopped, according to Chinese media.
The three babies are in stable condition, said doctors at a maternity hospital in Chengdu, the provincial capital of south-west China’s Sichuan Province.
They weighed 1,450g (51 ounces), 1,300g (46 ounces) and 1,150g (41 ounces) respectively at birth.
A nurse is giving an injection to the eldest sister (pictured) at the Maternity and Child Health Hospital of Sichuan. The baby was conceived through IVF, along with her two younger siblings
The second baby (pictured) was born two days after her elder sister. The doctors decided to let her and her younger sister stay in Ms You’s womb so they could grow a little bit more
The youngest sister (pictured) is receiving treatment from a nurse. A doctor at the hospital said she had never seen twins or triplets being born during such a long space of time
The triplets were born to a 31-year-old woman, who has been named You Li, according to Chengdu Evening News.
Ms You already has a daughter who is 11 years old, but her mother kept asking for a grandson. Therefore Ms Wang and her husband started planning a second baby.
The couple decided to undergo IVF at the Maternity and Child Health Hospital of Sichuan as Ms You was diagnosed with blocked fallopian tubes.
Ms You was successfully impregnated through IVF. The mother-of-one discovered she was carrying triplets when she was three months pregnant.
Ms You started experiencing contractions on Christmas eve.
The triplets are being looked after in the intensive care unit (pictured) at the Maternity and Child Health Hospital of Sichuan. The three babies and their mother are all in stable condition
The three girls weighed 1,450g (51 ounces), 1,300g (46 ounces) and 1,150g (41 ounces) at birth
The eldest of the three triplets were born at 1:50am on December 25 in a natural delivery, weighing 1,450g.
However Ms You’s contractions suddenly stopped.
The doctors decided to let the other two babies stay in Ms You’s womb so they could grow a little bit more.
The second and third baby were born through a Caesarean section at 1:16am and 1:18am on December 18. Doctors decided to carry out the operation after noticing one of the babies experienced unstable heart rate.
Both babies were deemed healthy at birth. They weighed 1,300g and 1,150g.
One of the three babies is lying in an incubator. The fluorescent light is used to treat jaundice
The triplets were just 30 weeks when their mother started having contractions on Monday
Medical staff at the Maternity and Child Health Hospital of Sichuan are looking after the babies
Dr Gao Yan from the Maternity and Child Health Hospital of Sichuan explained why the doctors didn’t performed surgery right after the first baby was born.
Dr Gao told Chengdu Business Daily: ‘The babies were only 30 weeks and premature. As the mother and the babies’ condition were stable, the babies should stay inside the womb to grow a little bit more…
‘[This] would increase the chances for the babies to survive after being born and help with their neonatal health.’
Dr Gao was amazed by Ms You’s labour: ‘I’ve been a doctor for 22 years. I’ve never seen anything like this before.’
Ms You suffered postpartum hemorrhage after the C-section. Luckily, doctors managed to bring her condition under control through surgery.
The three sisters are being kept in incubators.
The babies and their mother are all in stable condition.