by Mom Makes Agonizing Decision To Deliver Triplets Early So She Can Save Her Unborn Daughter And Surprise After Few Months
Chloe Dunstan is a mom of six who was once faced with an impossible choice: ʀɪsᴋ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪᴠᴇs ᴏF ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴏF ʜᴇʀ ʙᴀʙɪᴇs Fᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ sᴀᴠᴇ ᴏɴᴇ, or allow her ailing daughter to ᴅɪᴇ in order to make sure the other two would live.
Chloe and Ro are a young couple from Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. The two were already parents to three young sons — Evan, Otto, and Felix, all age 3 and under — when they decided to try for a little girl. They wanted just one last child. So you can imagine the couple’s surprise when they naturally conceived triplets, with no help from Fᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛs ᴡʜᴀᴛsᴏᴇᴠᴇʀ!
“We had our first sᴄᴀɴ at 6 weeks and got the sʜᴏᴄᴋ ᴏF ᴏᴜʀ ʟɪᴠᴇs when they told us that what was supposed to be our ‘fourth and final’ baby is actually our fourth, fifth and sixth,” Chloe wrote alongside a photo of her six-week sᴄᴀɴ.
She uploaded the image to Instagram on February 11, 2o15. “I’m still so completely sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ to be honest. I’m scared, excited, ᴏᴠᴇʀᴡʜᴇʟᴍᴇᴅ, ᴏᴠᴇʀᴊᴏʏᴇᴅ and every other emotion known to man.”
At the time, Chloe informed her followers that she was due in September but expected to give birth a month or two early, as is typical with triplets.
Though the triplets were unexpected, Chloe and her husband quickly became excited about adding three babies to their growing family. A few weeks later, the Dunstans found out that they had indeed successfully added a little girl to their brood — the triplets were two boys and a girl. Unfortunately, not all three babies developed the same way in ᴜᴛᴇʀᴏ — and doctors told Chloe and Ro that their little girl was in serious trouble. In a second trimester 3D sᴄᴀɴ, doctors said that baby Henry (the largest of the triplets) But little Pearl was sᴛʀᴜɢɢʟɪɴɢ to sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ.
To Chloe and Ro’s ʜᴏʀʀᴏʀ, they were told that Pearl was below the 10th percentile for size and a couple of weeks behind in development. She was ᴅᴇᴘʀɪᴠᴇᴅ ᴏf ᴏxʏɢᴇɴ and nutrients and not growing as she should.
“My doctor was a little more concerned about her today. Talking about the possibility of her dying, and how I’ll have to carry her until the boys are ready to be born because they wouldn’t want to ʀɪsᴋ them all by delivering them too early (i.e 24 weeks)I know it’s what would be best for them, but it’s scary. I don’t want to lose her.”Chloe revealed
Knowing that Pearl’s only chance was to deliver all three babies three months early, at 28 weeks, Chloe decided to take the ʀɪsᴋ. All three babies, though tiny, sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇd the birth. Henry, the largest baby, was just over 3 pounds, and Rufus was 2.6 pounds. But Pearl was roughly half of Henry’s weight, at just over 1.5 pounds.
“I feel guilty for having the boys delivered when they were growing so well in the womb. But Pearl would have ᴅɪᴇd if we didn’t deliver early, so I will never regret that. I do remember briefly considering the alternative of letting her go so her brothers could continue to grow strong and healthy and have the best start in life, but now that she’s here, my heart hurts at the thought of not having her in our lives.”Chloe said
Though Pearl experienced health problems associated with her underdevelopment in the womb and premature birth, now all three babies wound up thriving and becoming perfectly healthy. After nine weeks in the hospital, Henry and Rufus were able to come home. Only two weeks later, baby Pearl joined them, completing the Dunstans’ family of eight. All three babies made it home before their September 22, 2015, due date, and the new additions quickly bonded with their older brothers.
