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Frustaci Septuplets Will Be Delivered by Caesarean Section

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Times Staff Writer

Caesarean surgery was scheduled for this morning at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange to deliver Patti Frustaci’s septuplets, after the mother’s condition deteriorated from “good” to “fair” on Monday, hospital officials said.

A hospital spokeswoman said Frustaci’s doctor would not elaborate on the change in the patient’s condition, but she said surgery for the 30-year-old Riverside English teacher would begin between 8 and 10 a.m. A team of 36 doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists will be on hand for the births.

Until Monday, Frustaci’s condition had been good--her vital signs were stable, she was comfortable and her general health “indicators” were excellent, said hospital spokeswoman Valerie Orleans. Fair condition means Frustaci’s vital signs are stable but she is having some discomfort and her indicators are “favorable.”

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Frustaci’s husband, Samuel, said Monday his wife’s spirits are good. “She’ll be in even better spirits when it’s over,” he said in a telephone interview.

Frustaci began her 29th week of pregnancy Monday. An uncomplicated, one-baby pregnancy normally lasts 40 weeks.

She was given fertility drugs at a Los Angeles clinic three months before she conceived the seven babies. She has been hospitalized since March 25, so that her condition can be closely monitored and the pregnancy prolonged to as near normal term as possible.

Her obstetrician, Martin Feldman of Orange, had hoped the pregnancy could be maintained through the 28th week. The babies’ chances of survival improve substantially after the 28th week, he said in an interview last week.

Orleans said the latest ultrasound test showed all seven fetuses are alive. It is estimated that they weigh between one and two pounds each, she said.

Feldman will perform the Caesarean-section delivery and care for the mother, and each baby will be attended to by a neonatologist, a doctor who specializes in the care of premature and critically ill newborns, hospital spokesmen said. In addition, a nurse and a respiratory therapist will be on hand for each baby, they said.

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The babies will be transferred to Childrens Hospital of Orange County, which adjoins St. Joseph, Orleans said. They have already been pre-admitted under the names Frustaci, A through G, and delivery equipment--in-cluding incubators, catheters and monitors--has been color- and letter-coded for identification.

“There’s seven of everything,” Orleans said.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest recorded multiple birth was nine babies born in Sydney, Australia, in 1971. Six of them survived. In the case of septuplets, there has not been such a birth where all have survived, Orleans said.

Samuel Frustaci, an industrial salesman, said their home has not yet been prepared for the new babies because “we don’t know how many” will survive, and, in any event, they face certain lengthy hospitalization before they will be able to go home.

Patti Frustaci grew up in Fullerton and Orange, and attended El Modena High School. She and her husband have a 1-year-old son.

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