Quintuplets And More – The Phenomenon Of High Order Multiple Births

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I was delighted to read that a mother from Canada recently gave birth to identical quadruplets on August 12^th. This got me to thinking about my own fascination with multiple births. Twins, triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets, sextuplets and septuplets are all wonders of nature. Twins are by far the most common, but with the advent of fertility drugs, higher orders of multiple births are becoming more and more common. I admit that I am biased toward quintuplets and sextuplets, though. The drama surrounding the conception and birth of so many little lives is captivating to me.

The Dionne quintuplets were the first identical quintuplets known to survive infancy. They were born before the advent of fertility drugs in Callander, Ontario, Canada on May 28, 1934, and caused a sensation all over the world. Annette, Cecile, Emilie, Marie and Yvonne, were so much of a novelty that they were sadly treated like objects instead of children. After their parents agreed to let the babies be exhibited at the Chicago World’s Fair, the public was enraged, and the Ontario government took custody of the children. Even though this was done to prevent the exploitation of the little girls by their parents, government officials soon realized the broad interest people had in the quintuplets, and took steps to promote them for the sake of financial gain. As a result of this decision, the children were taken away from their family to live in a specially built hospital and nursery, which included an observation gallery. In this gallery, the children were watched through mesh screens by thousands of people who paid for the privilege. Around 6000 people a day visited the gallery, mighty to the delight of the Canadian government. The little girls became a huge tourist attraction, bringing about 51 million dollars in tourist revenue to the province when the area became known as “Quintland”. Amid a circus-like atmosphere, quintuplet themed merchandise was hawked, and snatched up eagerly by the adoring fans of the children. The Dionne quintuplets also lent their images to promote thousands of popular brands, including Quaker Oats. They even starred in four movies, “The Country Doctor” (1936), “Reunion” (1936), “Five of a Kind” (1938), and “Quintupland” (1938). Their parents fought to win custody of them again, and succeeded in 1943, but the damage had been done. They were virtual strangers to their family, and suffered various forms of abuse. Sadly, as the girls grew older, interest in them waned. They all had health problems and were forced to live in poverty. Finally, in 1998, the Canadian government gave the three surviving quintuplets (Emilie died in 1954 and Marie in 1970)a lump sum of 4 million dollars for the years of exploitation they suffered. The Dionnes are a classic example of how NOT to raise quintuplets.

The second set of quintuplets to survive were the Diligentis of Argentina. Born on on July 15 1943, the two boys and three girls (Maria Ester, Maria Fernanda, Maria Christina, Carlos Alberto and Franco) were fraternal, which means they were not identical, but only resembled each other as brothers and sisters. Next came the Prieto quints of Venezuela, all boys (Mario, Fernando, Otto, Robinson and Juan Jose) born on September 7 1963.

The Fischer quintuplets were born on September 14, 1963 in Aberdeen, South Dakota and were the first set born in the United States to survive. They were also conceived without the aid of fertility drugs. Their names are James Andrew (Jimmy), Mary Magdalene (Maggie), Mary Margaret (Margie), Mary Anne and Mary Catherine. Two of these quintuplets are identical. They were featured in Life magazine, but not as highly publicized as other multiples would be in later years. The Fischers still live and work in the Aberdeen area.

The first set of quintuplets born with the benefit of fertility drugs were the Lawson quints of New Zealand. Born on on July 27, 1965, their names are Samuel Christian Clayton, Deborah Ann, Lisa Blissful, Shirlene Jan, and Selina Joy. (4 girls, 1 boy) More quints were soon to follow as the medical profession realized the potential of these drugs.
I fondly remember the Kienast quintuplets, Sara, Abigail, Ted, Amy and Gordon,who were born on February 24^th, 1970 in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, to their parents, Bill and Peggy Jo. They had the distinction of being sixth set of surviving quintuplets in the entire world! Good Housekeeping magazine did a series of articles on these children which I collected and read and reread avidly. Peggy Jo had suffered a pituitary gland tumor which left her unable to have children, so she was given the fertility drug Perganol, which she was warned carried a risk of producing multiple births. Her first two children, Meg and John, were single births, so the Kienasts took their chances with the drug for a third – and final child. In addition to Perganol, she was given a rare and expensive fertility drug which was supposed to reduce the chance of having more than one baby. The unexpected result was five beautiful children. The Kienasts did not want their children exploited, so they only appeared in a few magazines, commercials and advertisements. By the late 1970s, the family faced financial difficulties when Bill’s business went bankrupt. Sadly, Bill committed suicide in 1984. The quints and their mother are alive and well, leading happy, productive lives.

The Anderson quintuplets, Scott, Roger, Owen, Diane and Audrey were born in 1973 on the West coast in Washington. Their mother wrote a extraordinary book called “Full House” which I still have and reread from time to time. In this book, she describes her pregnancy, the birth, and life with the quintuplets and their two brothers. What is most interesting is the the Anderson’s first two children were adopted, as Karen Anderson was unable to have children. That she conceived and gave birth to quintuplets without fertility drugs is nothing short of a miracle. Karen and her husband Eric raised all their children as individuals, and happy in them as the blessings they were.

As the use of fertility drugs to achieve pregnancy became more commonplace, so did multiple births. People were not quite so amazed to read of the latest state of quintuplets. Several families throughout the United States and the world welcomed the birth of quints quietly. There was perhaps a mention in the newspapers and a magazine article or two, but none of the media blitz that had surrounded the arrival of other multiples. Not until the birth of the McCaughey septuplets on November 19, 1997 was there significant press attention on the subject of multiple births.

Seven children at once! That’s big news, and the media had a field day when the world’s first set of surviving septuplets was born. Both positive and negative articles appeared about Kenneth Robert, Alexis May, Natalie Sue, Kelsey Ann, Nathan Roy, Brandon James, Joel Steven, their older sister Mikayla and their parents, Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey, when the septuplets were born in Des Moines, Iowa. Much controversy was the result of the admission that doctors had asked the couple to consider “selective reduction” when it was discovered that Bobbi was carrying seven babies. The McCaugheys refused, citing their religious beliefs, and said they were putting the matter in God’s hands. Kenny and Bobbi received many advantageous donations to help them raise their new family members, including a brand unusual house with seven bedrooms and five bathrooms, and college scholarships for all seven babies. Two of the children were discovered to have cerebral palsy, but on the whole, they are happy, healthy children whose parents carefully pick and choose from media offers in an effort to maintain a degree of privacy.

It is safe to assume that there will be more quintuplets, sextuplets (six babies) septuplets, and even octuplets (eight babies) conceived and born as the medical profession becomes more proficient in the area of multiple births. Hopefully, the knowledge gained will result in a reduction of the medical conditions and risks involved in having more than one baby.