ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 19, 1995 TAG: 9512190073
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.
SOURCE: LORI ROZSA KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
Good things come in threes, but expectant parents Delvonda and Bernard Boldin didn't think they'd be blessed with such good fortune quite so soon - tiny, record-breaking triplets born not only prematurely, but several weeks apart. The Boldin triplets are making medical history and lifting the hopes of their parents with each tiny breath they take through their respirators.
All three babies were in stable condition Monday, making it the first time anywhere that babies of the same mother born weeks apart have survived, doctors at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach said Monday.
All three weighed just under 2 pounds Monday. None of them has so far suffered any of the complications typical in extremely premature babies, such as bleeding in the brain or detached retinas, said neonatologist Setty Viralam.
``They're certainly not out of the woods yet, and they'll take careful monitoring,'' Viralam said. ``But we're pleased with their progress.''
Wearing doll-size, red knit Christmas caps, the triplets were cooed over Monday by reporters and photographers called in to see what doctors say is a medical marvel.
The first of the trio, Kenard, was born nearly a month ago - more than 16 weeks early. His two sisters were born Friday.
``I think the girls got mad at the little boy and kicked him out first,'' their mother said Monday. ``But I thought the girls were going to wait a little longer. They gave me quite a shock last week.''
The tale of the impatient triplets began a few days before Thanksgiving, when Boldin went into labor dangerously early - her babies weren't due to arrive until March 15.
She was hurried to Good Samaritan Hospital, where doctors were able to deliver Kenard on Thanksgiving morning. They kept his sisters from being born by giving Boldin magnesium sulfate to inhibit labor, and stitching her cervix.
Doctors were hoping to keep the two girls in utero for at least several more weeks, giving their lungs and other miniature organs time to develop more fully.
``But the babies had different ideas,'' Boldin said.
LENGTH: Short : 48 linesby CNB