Australian same-sex couples five babies to appear in magazine

Australian same-sex couples five babies to appear in magazine

AN AUSTRALIAN lesbian couple who beat odds of more than one in 60 million when they conceived quintuplets without IVF, have introduced their babies to the world in a magazine photo spread.

The last recorded case of Australian quintuplets was in 1967.

The two boys and three girls - named Noah, Charlie, Eireann, Evie and Abby - were born in Brisbane prematurely at 26 weeks on January 2, weighing between 830 grams and 905 grams, with a team of 25 hospital staff delivering them by caesarean.

The two mums, Melissa Keevers and Rosemary Nolan, were not able to hold the quins for the first week as they were taken to intensive care and placed in separate incubators. Doctors have not yet given the couple a date when they can take the babies to their Brisbane home.

Ms Keevers, 27, who was inseminated with the sperm of a donor from the US, said in an interview with Woman's Day: ''After just having five babies it's hard to only be able to visit them and touch them through a hole in the crib.

''You can't put into words what it's like to finally hold them.''

Ms Nolan, 22, who is from Ireland, told the magazine: ''We got very teary when they were born …

''We couldn't hold them as they were so small … We wanted to cuddle them but we knew the biggest thing was to make sure they were all right.''

Doctors have been impressed with the quins' progress so far. According to the magazine, a planned operation to fix a murmur in Eireann's heart may not be needed after all. She and Evie have been moved to a different intensive care unit that isn't so reliant on oxygen and Charlie and Abby are putting on weight. Noah, the first-born and biggest, is out of his incubator and Ms Keevers is breastfeeding him without any problems.

The couple have an older daughter, Lily, 18 months, conceived using the same sperm donor. The quins' biological father is a 27-year-old law student who the couple found through an internet fertility company in the US.

He has reportedly signed away any rights to the children and will never meet them.

The magazine interview is released tomorrow in Woman's day magazine

Read more about same-sex parenting at www.prideangel.com

Article: 7th March 2011 Sydney Morning Herald www.smh.com.au

Posted: 06/03/2011 16:27:45



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