Woodridge parents welcome quadruplets at Advocate Good Samaritan

Two Woodridge parents got to celebrate a busier Father's Day than usual with the arrival of quadruplets June 10.

Silver and Onyinye Stanley Nwagha welcomed their four babies - three girls and a boy - via C-section at 11:27 a.m. Monday, June 10, at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove. All four were stable at the hospital's Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which opened in 2018.

Multiple births of triples or more are rare in the U.S. - roughly 102 of every 100,000 live births include triplets or more, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Onyinye actually was outside the facility in the couple's car when Silver found out there were four babies.

"I told my doctors I needed my husband - I wanted him to come in and see for himself," she said.

The parents were referred to the hospital and OB-GYN Dr. Richard Barton through the Advocate Good Samaritan and DuPage County Health Department's Great Beginnings Prenatal Clinic in Lombard. Once it was clear they were coming to the hospital, NICU staff began splitting into teams and going through drills to ensure the babies received the same, high quality care as others - just quadrupled.

Silver took the pregnancy to 34 weeks, which is unusually long for quadruplets, said Advocate Good Samaritan neonatologist and NICU director Dr. Vibhaben Thaker. Both the pregnancy and delivery were without serious complication.

"Usually when there are more babies, the mothers are at higher risk of premature deliveries and possibility for complications," Thaker said. "The mother was actually up and walking around the same day."

When considering how quickly the babies enter into the world with a C-section - all within a few minutes - there was very little room for error. In total, each baby required four nurses and a doctor to care for them.

"We agreed in the preparation for the delivery that nobody was going to talk in the delivery room," Thaker said. "For a while, the only noises were the babies crying. We all saw how big and strong they looked - it was a very happy moment."

Silver was discharged four days later, just in time to celebrate Father's Day with Onyinye and their 2-year-old son, Chinemere, who said he was excited to be a brother. All four babies are doing well.

Both parents were excited, if a bit overwhelmed, at the prospect of a fuller household and thanked those responsible for the quality care throughout the pregnancy and thereafter.

"We're still getting used to this reality," Onyinye said. "We had a great team from day one. The hospital and our doctors did good work and are good people."

The babies, in their birth order are:

• Zara, 4 pounds, 5 ounces; 18 inches;

• Sochimaobim, 4 pounds, 5 ounces, 17 inches;

• Amaka, 4 pounds, 13 ounces, 17 inches

• Muna, 3 pounds, 12 ounces, 16.5 inches.