UCSD hits for the cycle with 'multiple multiple' New Year's births

At approximately 8:30 pm on Jan. 1, 2003, a 4-pound boy was delivered ay University of California, San Diego Medical Center. The next morning at 7 am the team delivered a set of twins. A couple of hours later, triplets emerged, and three hours later, a set of quadruplets was born. All small and premature, the 10 children were taken to the Infant Special Care Center for individualized care.

When Dr Brian Lane, a UCSD neonatology fellow who assisted in stabilization of the numerous births realized what was happening he remarked, "we just hit for the cycle," referring to the rare occurrence when a baseball player hits a single, double, triple and home run all in the same game.

Linda Levy, RN, director of UCSD's Women and Infant Services said "In my 27 years at this hospital I've never seen this happen. It's pretty exciting." Levy says the hospital has never delivered so many multiple births in sequential succession in such a short period of time. She added that all the children are doing very well and are already breathing on their own, no small feat for tiny babies born between 2 and 3 pounds. "It is a great testament to the teamwork among the Women and Infant Services healthcare team," she says.

Each year UCSD Medical Center delivers approximately 3,000 babies a year, about six to eight births per day. As referral center for high-risk pregnancy cases, UCSD admits about 25% of its newborns into the Infant Special Care Center for specialized follow-up due to prematurity and other complications.