All-Girl Quintuplets Born, but 1 Dies; Mother Had Not Taken Fertility Drugs
One of the quintuplets born 11 weeks prematurely to a Las Vegas woman died Tuesday, but the other four were in stable condition. Two of the babies were breathing on their own while the other two were on respirators.
The five infants, all girls, had been in stable condition after their delivery by Caesarean section Monday night, Ann Lynch, a hospital spokeswoman, said.
“The parents are terribly distraught over the one baby,” Lynch said. “They were elated but now it’s the realization and the concern over the baby.”
Robin Jenkins, a 30-year-old homemaker, made medical history when she gave birth to all-girl quintuplets, an event doctors say occurs once in every 70 million births. Most such births are a result of fertility drugs, but she had not taken any.
“To our knowledge, this was the first spontaneous birth of quintuplets in the United States,” Lynch said. “The mother is in good condition physically.”
“This is an experience of a lifetime,” said the father, Wayne Jenkins, a 28-year-old car salesman. The parents had moved to Las Vegas from Virginia eight months ago.
The girls were delivered within a span of four minutes. The babies weighed between 1 pound, 8 ounces and 2 pounds, 3 1/2 ounces.
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