Quadruplets Born in Valley; L.A. Area’s 4th Set in Year

The fourth set of quadruplets born in the Los Angeles area in less than a year were delivered by Caesarean section shortly after noon Sunday at Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

The two boys and two girls, born about 10 1/2 weeks prematurely, were doing fine in the hospital’s neonatal care unit, and so was their mother, Bridget Lach, 31, their doctor said.

But their father, Bill Lach, suffered an attack of high blood pressure after his wife entered the hospital nearly two weeks ago.

“His blood pressure shot up so much he had to be put on disability,” said Dr. Arnold Bresky, who delivered the quadruplets. “Everyone talks about the mother and the babies. But the husband is under a lot of stress, too.”

On Medical Leave

Bill Lach, 36, of Van Nuys said he had to take extended medical leave from his job as a research assistant at Hughes Aircraft.

He took his wife to the hospital when she began labor 11 days ago. At that time, Bresky administered a drug called ritodrine to stop the labor and a drug called betamethadone to induce the maturing of fetal lungs.

In spite of the medication, he said, the babies were born more than 10 weeks early. But the delay in delivery helped the babies, Bresky said.

“The babies are in pretty good condition,” Bresky said. “Two of them came out crying.”

All the babies were born with underdeveloped lungs, which is normal considering their term, Bresky said.

To help their breathing, two of the babies were put on ventilators and a third was receiving oxygen. One of them was breathing room air.

One in 750,000 Births

Medically, quadruplets are no longer considered extraordinary. But they are rare, occurring only once in about 750,000 births, Bresky said.

Doctors suggested that it was a statistically astronomical occurrence when two sets were born on the same day in Los Angeles in August. Another set was born in Glendale in January.

Bridget Lach did not speak to reporters Sunday.

But Bill Lach, standing in a hallway outside the maternity ward with several relatives, was animated and talkative as he waited for his first chance to see his wife after the delivery.

Names Withheld at First

At first he wouldn’t volunteer the names he and his wife had in mind. He said they had three names for boys and three names for girls and his first task when he saw his wife would be to make the final selections.

About 2 1/2 hours after the delivery, Bresky allowed Lach into his wife’s room. A few minutes later the father bounced out with a smile on his face.

“OK,” he said excitedly. “We’ve got them.”

He introduced his four children:

Kenneth Charles, 3 pounds, 1 1/2 ounces, born at 12:23 p.m.; Matthew Evan, 3 pounds, 1/2 ounce, and Kathryn Bryn, 2 pounds, 5 1/2 ounces, born in that order at 12:24; and Rachel Claire, 3 pounds, 7 ounces, born at 12:25. Kathryn was breathing on her own.

Babies Staying in Hospital

The babies are expected to remain at the hospital two to three months.

Their mother will probably go home in five to seven days, Bresky said.

Doctors at the hospital said Bridget Lach was taking a fertility drug to induce pregnancy. The success of the drug exceeded the Lachs’ expectations.

“We weren’t thinking of four,” Bill Lach said.

They got their surprise in stages. Ultrasound readings showed three fetuses in mid-September. Two weeks later the fourth showed up.

In one way, that wasn’t soon enough.

“They just bought a two-bedroom house,” said Bridget Lach’s sister, Timone West.