Courtney, a mother of 3 went for a routine ultrasound to check up on her pregnancy and was along with the doctors and the rest of the world, shocked to hear 6 distinct healthy heartbeats. Her doctors say “This is an extremely rare phenomenon”. Despite the risks involved the couple wants to keep all 6 fetuses and allow them to live with G-d’s help.
Courtney said: “It was the shock of our lives!” Courtney is in her 13th week of pregnancy and was originally more afraid. Pregnancies like hers are considered high risk. Doctors normally urge such couples to ‘thin out’ the fetuses, a sugar coated word for aborting a few of them to reduce the risks. But the Waldrop’s said they saw the little fingers and toes of the fetuses and they were happy they decided against aborting any of them. They were worried but Courtney said: ‘We were strong in our faith but we were scared. When we let go and turned it all over to G-d our fears were lifted from us.’ Eric also said: G-d gave us these babies so it must be He has bigger plans than what we thought”.
Courtney is under medical supervision and is slated to give birth in the Huntsville Hospital though they never delivered sextuplets before.
Chances of sextuplets under normal circumstances are 1 in 4.7 billion! However Courtney was undergoing fertility treatment with a low dose of fertility medicines. This makes a pregnancy prone to multiple fetuses but the couple was totally taken off guard as Courtney’s treatment was a low dose one.
At this point the fetuses are actually better developed than other fetuses at this stage. When the womb gets crowded as they grow their development is expected to slow down. Courtney is hoping to make it to 28 weeks in the beginning of December hopefully with all her fetuses healthy though probably born prematurely. “G-d is going to help us get through this” Courtney says.
A collection and a marathon to sponsor their upcoming expenses were organized in their town but notably the sign says: “Even if you can’t run (in the sponsorship marathon) or donate, please come out and pray for the Waldrop Family.”