Katie and Charlie Ferraro always wanted to have a big family. So when they learned they were naturally pregnant with quadruplets – it was as if their dream would be coming true all at once.
The couple already had a one-year-old at home named Molly, meaning they’d quickly be growing to a household of seven. Although they were over the moon with excitement, there were some fears as well.
37-year-old Katie had a high-ʀɪsᴋ pregnancy because of the medical outcomes that could occur. This included increased rates of ᴄʜʀᴏᴍᴏsᴏᴍᴀʟ ᴀʙɴᴏʀᴍᴀʟɪᴛɪᴇs and sᴛɪʟʟʙɪʀᴛʜ. Katie Ferraro had already defied the odds, becoming pregnant with naturally fertilized quadruplets. She had undergone genetic testing that showed all four babies appeared healthy. Katie’s situation are either on bed rest or live in a special hospital unit.
Meanwhile, a large team of caregivers assembled on the fourth floor of Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns. They were there to ensure all necessary resources could be mobilized to deliver Katie’s babies at a moment’s notice. Nurses and doctors from the hospital’s various units — High-Ʀɪsᴋ Pregnancy, Labor and Delivery, Sᴜʀɢᴇʀʏ, Aɴᴇsᴛʜᴇsɪᴀ, Rᴇsᴘɪʀᴀᴛᴏʀʏ Tʜᴇʀᴀᴘʏ, Maternal Infant Services and Neonatal Intensive Care — gathered together, reviewing details to ensure the safest possible delivery.
Katie ended up making it to the 34th week of her pregnancy, so they arrived at the hospital and prepared for a C-sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ. In the room, individual medical teams had been assembled for each baby.
The first step was identifying the teams needed in the ᴏᴘᴇʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ room (OR). Each baby would have an advanced life support team to care for them immediately after delivery. Then there was the issue of identifying which baby was which. In addition to numbered hats, the babies would each get color-coded umbilical clamps and medical tape so caregivers could keep them straight.
At 11:30 am, Katie underwent her scheduled C-sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ surrounded by a 20-person team. According to hospital staff, the plan was executed successfully and 24 minutes later, Charlie, Claire, Henry and Dillon were born — each healthy and born a minute apart.
The babies measured between three and four pounds and were 15 to 18 inches long. Only two babies, Henry and Dillon, required umbilical catheters, which help monitor ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ᴘʀᴇssᴜʀᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʟʟᴏᴡ Fʟᴜɪᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄɪɴᴇ to be given. All four babies were taken to the NICU, and Katie met her new bundles of joy a short time later. She was discharged from the hospital after four days. Within a month, all four of them were able to go home.
The Ferraros became a beautiful family of seven that day, but as it turns out, that was just the beginning. In March of the following year they welcomed a set of twins too, Gus and Hannah. Katie and Charlie did always want a big family – and that’s exactly what they wanted.
