Childless couple gets four in three minutes

A couple in Cheongju, North Chungcheong had quadruplets Wednesday — a one-in-a-million statistical chance.

The mother is fine but dad’s a little stunned to have two sons and two daughters in a matter of minutes.

“I’m happy that the babies were all born healthy,” said Cho Yeong-min, 36, the father. “Having four babies at once is a bit of a surprise but I want to raise them as best I can.”

The mother, Kim Ae-ran, 31, delivered the four babies at one minute intervals by cesarean section at Chungbuk National University Hospital at around 9:10 a.m. Wednesday.

The first baby was 1.56 kilograms (3.4 pounds), the second 1.62 kilograms, the third 1.56 kilograms and the fourth 1.1 kilograms. The first and second infants were males and third and fourth females. They were the first children for the couple and all four are in incubators.

The mother Kim was hospitalized earlier this month after showing symptoms of preeclampsia and she suffered labor pains at midnight on Wednesday. The couple married in Sept. 2014. From early on, the couple wanted to have a baby but Kim had trouble getting pregnant. Last September she had fertility treatment and became pregnant four months later.

“We tried our best to have a baby and we eventually succeeded,” said Cho. “We were told we were having quadruplets after an ultrasound scan at three months of pregnancy.”

Kim worked at a major electronics company but resigned right after getting married to get pregnant. Lee Pyeong-sun, 68, Cho’s mother, said, “During their wedding, when the host asked my daughter-in-law how many children she wants, I was happy when she shouted, ‘Five!’”

Cho’s family, in fact, has five siblings. Cho is the only male. Cho likes babies so much that he has change the diapers of his nine nephews and nieces and given them allowances.

Cho’s mother had a dream presaging the quadruplets. When the couple was expecting, Cho’s mother said she dreamt of a white car and four pink cars. “My mother said the white car might be a son but it turns out the four pink cars were the quadruplets all along,” said Cho.

Cho Guk-hyeon, 72, Cho’s father, said, “We are contemplating the names of the babies as a name is the first gift that every person receives after they are born.” The grandfather, father and the quadruplets were all born in the year of the monkey.

Chungbuk National University Hospital celebrated the birth of the quadruplets.

“It’s a great blessing that quadruplets were born in the midst of low birth rates and an extreme heat wave,” said Cho Myung-chan, president of the hospital. “We will continue to give our support to the mother and the infants until they leave the hospital in good health.” Dr. Cho visited the couple with gifts such as a gift certificate for baby equipment.

BY CHOI JONG-KWON [lee.soowhan@joongang.co.kr ]