Quints Off Respirators And All Are Doing Well

Sat., July 6, 1996

From Staff And Wire Reports

Quintuplets born two weeks ago to a Richland couple are all off respirators and are doing well, their parents say.

The first live quints in state history were born June 20 at Sacred Heart Medical Center. They could be released from the hospital in six to eight weeks.

“They’ve made amazing progress,” father Roger Bowman said this week. “The state is amazed. The insurance company is amazed.”

Joyce Bowman, 39, became pregnant through in vitro fertilization, and gave birth to four girls and a boy.

The babies were delivered by Caesarean section after 30 weeks in the womb, and are listed in serious but stable condition, said hospital spokeswoman Pat Servine.

“They are all doing fine,” Servine said.

The babies ranged in weight from 1 pound, 11 ounces to 3 pounds, 12 ounces, and totaled 13 pounds, 11 ounces.

They are gaining weight, their parents said.

Removal from respirators is a key development because many premature babies have underdeveloped lungs and need help to breathe. One of the babies never needed a respirator, and of the four that did, the last one was taken off this week.

The Bowmans will be returning to home this weekend. They have been living at the hospital since the births.

, DataTimes

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