Premature triplets discharged healthy in five months

Triplets, born prematurely at just over 500 grams each and delivered at only 22 weeks gestation, have been discharged healthy after five months of intensive care, according to Ewha Woman’s University Medical Center’s Mother-Baby Hospital.

The hospital announced on Monday that the triplets and their mother were discharged in good health earlier this month.

The mother had initially been treated at a different hospital but was transferred after experiencing sudden labor pains. She delivered the triplets via emergency cesarean section, just over halfway through an average pregnancy term. At birth, the babies weighed 440 grams, 540 grams, and 460 grams—far below the average newborn weight of 3 kilograms. Additionally, the survival rate for premature infants born before 24 weeks is only around 20%.

The hospital’s neonatal intensive care team immediately placed the triplets on ventilators for focused treatment. Fortunately, their conditions stabilized, allowing them to be taken off ventilators after 70 days. The first two babies reached weights of 2.3 kilograms and 2.2 kilograms and were discharged after 120 and 140 days, respectively. The third baby, who developed a minor brain hemorrhage, also recovered and was discharged at a weight of 2.5 kilograms after 140 days.

“It’s a near miracle that the triplets could celebrate their 100th day in the neonatal unit and go home healthy,” said Shim So-yeon, head of the hospital’s High-Risk Neonatal Intensive Care Center.


조유라 기자 jyr0101@donga.com