AN IRISH COUPLE has welcomed the arrival of quadruplets at Coombe Hospital after defying fertility odds.
The babies, three girls and a boy, incredibly arrived within four minutes of each other on August 23.
Delighted parents Ciara Flynn and Shane Magee celebrated the arrival of Johnny, Layla, Grace and Amelia after they were born by C-section at just 30 weeks and five days.
When she was a teenager, Ciara found out she had polycystic ovaries and was told it would be very unlikely that she would get pregnant naturally.
The couple decided to use hormone injections to help with conception, and in February, Ciara fell pregnant.
She told the Irish Sun: "We decided to try for a baby and I kind of knew I might have to go and get a bit of help.
"Nothing was happening so I ended up going up to the Coombe Hospital in Dublin and they sent me to Tallaght Hospital because they do FSH injections.
"I did the injections for just one week. I started on the Monday and the following Monday we realised it worked too well. It basically over stimulated me.
"We were shocked. We thought we might have to go down the IVF route so we were trying this as a last option.
The babies were born prematurely, but aside from the usual initial concerns, the couple say the babies are all doing very well.
"It was a nervous start at the beginning but the staff were fantastic and looked after them all unbelievably well. They looked tiny," Ciara said.
"Breathing is difficult with such premature babies and that was a worry but they seem to be doing really well.
"It’s been hectic the last two weeks. Shane has been driving back and forth so I could be close to the babies and provide as much of my early breast milk as I could get."
The couple took to Facebook to update friends and family on the four little bundles of joy.
The post read: "As you can imagine the quads Mammy & Daddy have been super busy since our gorgeous little miracles arrived so we thought we would give you a quick little update.
"Grace , Johnny , Amelia and Layla are all doing amazing . They are little Magee warriors and are getting bigger and stronger everyday. We love them so much already and cannot wait to get them home to our house so we can start our life as a family."
