First Set of Quintuplets of the Year Delivered in Dallas
With the help of a specially trained, multidisciplinary delivery team of about 50 UT Southwestern Medical Center specialists, nurses, technicians and therapist, Carrie and Gavin Jones successfully gave birth to quintuplets on August 9.
The five newborns that were named Will Edward, David Stephen, Marcie Jane, Seth Jared, and Grace Elise birth weights ranged from one pound and 12 ounces to two pounds and 11 ounces are currently in stable condition at St. Paul University hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
The Jones' and their eight-year-old son once served as missionaries in the South Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea.
According to Dr. Patricia Santiago-Munoz, assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the quintuplet's entire delivery took no more than five minutes; however preparation for the delivery took much more time and effort.
For months prior to the delivery, the UT Southwestern medical team planned every detail including handing out special CODE five pages to inform the teams and develop color-coded system for those who would participate in the delivery of the quintuplets. There were weekly drills held and early endeavors made to ensure efficiency and duplicate equipment and back-up systems were ready. Alongside from planning the pregnancy, each infant was assigned its own medical team. Each team would be responsible for caring for each infant for 24 hours a day, including a neonatologist, neonatal nurse practitioners, nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists and radiology technicians.
The Dallas quintuplets are the first delivered at St. Paul Hospital and the third delivered by the specialists in the OB/GYN Department at the UT Southwestern Medical Center.
The quintuplets will remain at the St. Paul University Hospital until they have grown to the appropriate weight, post birth age and other health markers physicians are using to determine when it will be okay for the Jones' to return home.
Those who are interested in the progress of the Jones family and their quintuplets visit their blog at gavincarrie.blogspot.com.