Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital's Mother and Baby Center successfully cared for triplets born at 22 weeks, with both the mother and newborns safely discharged on Thursday.

The early delivery of triplets at 22 weeks is highly unusual. The Mother and Baby Center, which opened in May under Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, has established itself as a facility capable of providing intensive care for high-risk mothers and newborns by safely discharging three premature babies and their mother in good health.

Ms. A, who was pregnant with triplets, experienced sudden labor in May while hospitalized for preterm labor at another hospital. Lee Kyung-ah, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Mother and Baby Center, who has delivered more than 3,000 babies over five years, decided to transfer her to the hospital immediately, believing that birth was imminent despite the early stage of the pregnancy.

“We decided to perform an emergency cesarean section to ensure the safe delivery of the triplets due to uncontrolled labor and premature cervical dilation despite the use of uterine contraction inhibitors,” Lee said. She is also the head of the High-Risk Obstetrics Center.  

The triplets were born at 22 weeks and four days' gestational age, weighing 440 grams, 540 grams, and 460 grams, respectively. Shortly after birth, a professor of pediatrics experienced in treating preterm infants initiated ventilator care, and all three were weaned from the ventilator after 70 days.

The triplets were then intensively cared for in the NICU, where the first and second were discharged at 120 and 140 days of age, respectively, weighing 2.3 and 2.2 kilograms, without any major surgeries or complications during their stay. The third experienced an intraventricular hemorrhage but was discharged at 140 days, weighing 2.5 kilograms, due to quick and appropriate intervention.

“It is a miracle that the triplets were discharged from the NICU healthy and able to celebrate their hundredth day together,” said Shim So-yeon, director of the Center for High-Risk Neonatal Intensive Care. “We are grateful to the triplets and their parents for enduring such a challenging period. This achievement was only possible due to the dedicated efforts of all the medical staff and stakeholders.”

The Ewha Mother and Baby Center is a collaborative effort involving obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, pediatric cardiothoracic surgery, pediatric radiology, pediatric surgery, pediatric neurosurgery, pediatric rehabilitation, and other specialties to provide comprehensive care for high-risk mothers, fetuses, and newborns.