These moms of quadruplets have found a way to stay sane
The 35-year-old from Tampa, Florida, delivered her quadruplets at 26 weeks and spent four agonizing months watching them in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as they underwent surgery, breathing and feeding complications.
She was 'drowning in depression' and sought support from an exclusive Facebook group of quadruplet moms, who were planning a trip to Nashville in August 2023.
Five days before the trip, Torres' last quadruplet came home happy and healthy. It was her sign to finally take some time for herself.
'It's hard because as mothers, we just deep dive into motherhood and we forget we have needs as well,' Torres said. 'I had poured so much into my kids. It was time for me to also take care of myself.'
This first trip turned into an annual tradition among the quadruplet moms who found each other on Facebook and instantly bonded over the hardships of having high-order multiples. It has also captivated the interest of social media users, with a video from a June trip to Utah receiving over 750,000 views on TikTok.
Quadruplet pregnancies and births are extremely rare. There were only 128 quadruplet births in 2023 compared to 110,000 twin births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Artificial reproductive technology and older age can increase the risk of having quadruplets, said Dr. Layan Alrahmani, OB-GYN and maternal-fetal medicine specialist, and advisory board member for BabyCenter, a digital parenting resource.
'With fertility treatment, now we're very careful and it's very rare to implant more than one embryo,' she said. 'Some people are still using ovulation induction, so the quadruplets that I've seen are with judicious use of Clomid (a medication used to induce ovulation).'
90s kid summer: Millennial parents want it for their children this but what does that mean?
Quadruplet and other higher-order pregnancies are unique in that they increase the risk of certain complications such as high blood pressure, gestational diabetes and postpartum hemorrhage, Alrahmani said. They also increase the risk of depression, anxiety and stress during pregnancy and in the first years after birth.
Quadruplet babies are also at increased risk of learning disabilities, developmental delays and premature birth, Alrahmani said, with most deliveries occurring between 30 and 32 weeks of pregnancy. Some doctors may recommend that patients get a fetal reduction to decrease the risk of complications.
Due to the high-risk nature of the pregnancy, medical visits are frequent and "so intense" because "we're asking about bad things and it's a lot," Alrahmani said, who does not have quadruplets. It can suck the joy and excitement out of pregnancy.
The quadruplet moms say there's no one around who can relate to their parenting experiences, which is what inspired Hanna Castle, 25, to start organizing the trips.
'These trips are one big mom-sleepover that makes us feel like teenagers, again,' said Castle, a mom of 3-year-old quadruplets from Columbus, Ohio. "It's become a true friendship."
She first learned about the exclusive Facebook group after posting a video of her ultrasound on social media. Another quadruplet mom began following her and then invited her to the Facebook group, which can't be found with a normal search. Before being added as a member, Castle had to provide proof that she was having quadruplets.
The secrecy of the group is "super important," Castle said. "Having such a high-risk pregnancy that's rare, that nobody understands, you can be extra sensitive and want to be private with a lot of things."
Since finding the group, she has leaned on her fellow moms as she navigated pregnancy, the NICU and motherhood.
She spearheaded the first trip to Nashville and has also organized trips to Florida and Utah. The moms hit up bars, go to the beach, take hikes and some have even gotten matching tattoos. Castle tries to rotate the trip's location and times of the year to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to attend.
Torres and Castle look forward to the annual gathering each year.
'It's a time to really disconnect as much as you can and get a feeling like you're back to yourself for a moment while also getting the support and advice you need to go back and be the best mom you can,' Castle said.
Adrianna Rodriguez can be reached at adrodriguez@usatoday.com.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Deadly NYC Legionnaires' disease outbreak fueled by negligence, lawsuit says
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has filed lawsuits against two construction companies over what he called a "completely preventable" outbreak of Legionnaires' disease that has killed five people and sickened more than 100 others in New York City. Legionnaires' disease is a severe pneumonia caused by a type of bacteria called Legionella, which grows in warm or hot water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An outbreak of the disease, which began on July 25, has been clustered across five zip codes in Central Harlem. The city health department said the outbreak is linked to cooling towers, heat exchangers that use fans and water to cool down buildings. On Aug. 14, health officials confirmed that 12 cooling towers at buildings including NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem tested positive for the Legionella bacteria. Crump and other attorneys filed complaints on behalf of two construction workers who were hospitalized with Legionnaire's disease in July after working near the hospital in Harlem, according to a news release. Crump said the legal team has also filed a notice of claim and intend to sue the city as well. "It is believed that the cooling towers at Harlem Hospital were filled with rainwater after several large July storms," the release said. "The water was left untreated, which permitted bacteria to spread causing workers at the site to become sick." Construction companies, city accused of negligence Crump accused Skanska USA Building, Inc., Rising Sun Construction LLC and the city of negligence at a news conference on Aug. 20, announcing the lawsuits. The attorneys said the construction companies were put on notice about the possibility of Legionella bacteria through bulletins after the storms, but failed to take action to keep those working near the hospital safe. "When corporations cut corners, tragedies like this happen. Preventable tragedies, unnecessary tragedies," Crump said. Crump said the lawsuit is seeking not only compensation for the workers but also accountability and answers about why this outbreak occurred in Harlem — a historically Black neighborhood in Upper Manhattan. Skanska and Rising Sun did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY. Christopher Miller, a spokesperson for NYC Health + Hospitals, said in a statement the agency has "one of the most rigorous cooling tower safety and inspection programs, exceeding City testing and cleaning requirements." "We inspect towers every day; further, we look for legionella weekly instead of the required every 90 days," the statement said. "We continue to work with our cooling tower maintenance firm and the NYC Health Department to best serve our patients and the Harlem community.' When asked about Crump's claims about the source of the outbreak, a spokesperson for the city's health department said the investigation is ongoing. "Molecular testing may help us determine which cooling tower — or cooling towers — were the source of the bacteria in the Central Harlem cluster," spokesperson Chantal Gomez said in a statement. "The Public Health Lab is still determining a match through DNA sequencing and we expect final results soon.' Electrian describes gasping for air while hospitalized with Legionnaire's Nunzio Quinto, a union electrian who worked at a ground-up construction of the NewYork City Public Health Laboratory, a 10-story facility adjacent to the hospital complex, said he thought he had food poisoning when he first started feeling lethargic in late July. Quinto said his family took him to the hospital, where he was immediately diagnosed with Legionnaire's disease. He suffered breathing problems, pain and internal bleeding during a five-day stay in the hospital, but said his coworkers weren't notified of his illness. "I want answers to what's going on. I can't have a safe place to work? This is New York City," Quinto said at the news conference. Contributing: Thao Nguyen This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lawsuit blames Legionnaires' disease outbreak on negligence
Fox News
29 minutes ago
- Fox News
Five deaths reported amid bacterial infection outbreak in major city
A total of five people have now died amid an outbreak of bacterial pneumonia, which has infected dozens of people in New York City, according to health officials. As of Aug. 19, there have been 108 confirmed cases of Legionnaires' disease, a type of pneumonia caused by the bacteria Legionella. Fourteen people are currently hospitalized, according to NYC Health. The cluster of cases is concentrated in Central Harlem and bordering communities (zip codes 10027, 10030, 10035, 10037 and 10039). "Anyone in these zip codes with flu-like symptoms should contact a healthcare provider as soon as possible," said Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse in the health department's previous alert. Legionnaires' is usually found in lakes, streams and other freshwater environments. However, it can grow and spread indoors via shower heads, sink faucets, hot tubs, water features/fountains, plumbing systems and other water systems where conditions are favorable for the Legionella bacteria to grow, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). When people swallow or breathe in droplets of water that contain Legionella, they can potentially become ill with Legionnaires' disease. The disease is not typically spread from person to person, per the CDC. In the case of the New York City outbreak, the health department directed the state to perform remediation for 11 cooling towers that tested positive for the bacteria. "Legionnaires' disease can be effectively treated if diagnosed early, but New Yorkers at higher risk, like adults aged 50 and older and those who smoke or have chronic lung conditions, should be especially mindful of their symptoms and seek care as soon as symptoms begin," Morse added. Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease usually show up between two and 14 days after exposure. The condition usually causes flu-like symptoms, including cough, chills, muscle aches, fever or difficulty breathing. Some patients may also experience nausea, diarrhea and confusion, the CDC noted. "The nature of the symptoms is not necessarily what differentiates Legionella from other causes, but history of exposure from 'human-made reservoirs,' though this may be hard to discern early on in infection and/or in an outbreak," said Goodyear. Those who have any of these symptoms should seek medical attention immediately, the CDC advises. Groups at highest risk include smokers, people 50 and older, those with chronic lung disease and people who are immunocompromised, according to health officials. "Other risk factors include advancing age, cardiovascular disease, obesity and compromised immune systems," Dr. Nathan Goodyear, an integrative medicine physician at the Williams Cancer Institute in California, previously told Fox News Digital. Around 10% of people who contract Legionnaires' disease will die from complications. Diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease is made via chest X-ray, urine test and lab analysis of a phlegm sample. Most people with the disease will recover with a course of antibiotics. In some patients, however, serious illness can lead to lung failure or death, per the CDC. Around 10% of people who contract Legionnaires' disease will die from those complications — and the mortality risk rises to 25% for those who get Legionnaires' while staying in a healthcare facility. "Treatment needs to be early and aggressive," Goodyear told Fox News Digital. "Legionella infection is an intracellular infection that requires antibiotic treatment." Antibiotics that are appropriate for Legionella infection include Levofloxacin and Azithromycin. "Therapy can be prescribed orally in healthy individuals … but intravenous antibiotics often prove to be the initial option for treatment secondary to the pathogenicity of the disease," Goodyear said. Currently, there are no vaccines for Legionnaires' disease. The best strategy to prevent infection is to reduce the growth and spread of the Legionella bacteria. For more Health articles, visit The CDC recommends that building owners and managers use a water management program to reduce the risk. To prevent serious illness from Legionnaires', Goodyear recommends that all smokers kick the habit, and also emphasizes the need to "aggressively support" chronic pulmonary disease.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
2.8M in US now identify as transgender: Research
Roughly 2.8 million Americans aged 13 and older identify as transgender, accounting for approximately 1 percent of the U.S. population in that age group, according to a new estimate from the Williams Institute, a research organization focused on sexual orientation and gender identity issues. About three-quarters of people who identify as transgender in the U.S. are under 35, according to the report published Wednesday, and 25 percent are between 13 and 17. Williams Institute researchers used data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) — public health surveys administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — and statistical modeling to estimate the population of trans adults and youth in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. About 2.1 million adults identify as transgender, accounting for approximately 0.8 percent of Americans aged 18 and older, according to Wednesday's report. Roughly 3.3 percent of 13 to 17-year-olds in the U.S., or 724,000, identify as transgender. 'Younger generations are more likely to identify as transgender, and we expect that trend to continue,' said Jody Herman, the report's lead author and a senior scholar at the Williams Institute. 'Youth and young adults are more likely to identify as transgender due to a variety of factors, including a greater willingness among younger individuals to disclose that they identify as transgender on surveys.' That finding is consistent with national surveys on LGBTQ identification. In a February Gallup poll, 23.1 percent of Gen Z said they identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or 'something other than heterosexual,' compared with 14.2 percent of Millennials and 5.1 percent of Gen X. The Williams Institute, affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, has tracked the number of transgender people in the U.S. since at least 2011. In 2022, the group estimated that 1.6 million Americans identified as transgender. Most transgender people in the U.S. — about 279,000 — live in the South, according to Wednesday's report, consistent with previous years' findings. Around 175,000 transgender Americans live in the West; 156,000 in the Midwest and 114,000 in the Northeast, the Williams Institute found. Of all adults who identify as transgender, 33 percent are transgender women; 34 percent are transgender men and 33 percent are nonbinary, according to Wednesday's report. The group's estimate comes as President Trump's administration works to remove public health datasets and information from federal government websites about transgender people and identities. Affixed at the top of the CDC's webpage for the YRBSS, which the Williams Institute used in its calculation on Wednesday, is an advisory that 'Any information on this page promoting gender ideology is extremely inaccurate and disconnected from the immutable biological reality that there are two sexes, male and female.' 'The Trump Administration rejects gender ideology and condemns the harms it causes to children, by promoting their chemical and surgical mutilation, and to women, by depriving them of their dignity, safety, well-being, and opportunities,' the advisory reads. 'This page does not reflect biological reality and therefore the Administration and this Department rejects it.' Federal health agencies, including the CDC, were ordered to restore online datasets taken down after Trump issued an executive order in January prohibiting the government from promoting 'gender ideology.' Each of the restored webpages leads with notices condemning 'gender ideology.' The White House has also sought to remove questions about gender identity from national surveys on crime victimization and sexual violence. In February, former U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos told NPR that the bureau had moved to strike gender identity questions from several surveys it conducts because of Trump's Jan. 20 order. 'Federal datasets that include questions about sexual orientation and gender identity have provided critical information to researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and the public,' Andrew R. Flores, a distinguished visiting scholar at the Williams Institute and one of the authors of Wednesday's report, said in a statement. 'Removal of these questions from federal surveys — such as the BRFSS and the YRBS — would significantly hinder the ability of researchers to assess the health, experiences, and needs of transgender people in the United States.'
