Four Sets of Triplets Born at Rambam – Two Sets to Good Friends

Four sets of triplets were born at Rambam Health Care Campus (Rambam) in Haifa, Israel, two sets in May, one set in July, and another set in August!

In May, Sohad Badran, (34) from Kfar Bi’ina, a village in Northern Israel, was the first to give birth to triplets at Rambam in this wave of four. She and her husband, Ahmad, became the proud parents of two girls and a boy in the 33rd week of pregnancy. Sohad was admitted to the Mrs. Edith and Professor Dov Katz Maternal and Fetal Medicine Unit two months before giving birth. Since Badran’s pregnancy was high-risk, her extended hospitalization was essential. Following an unsuccessful triplet pregnancy last year, this one resulted in healthy births – in one moment, their eight-year-old son became a big brother to three! All three babies were immediately transferred to Rambam’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where expert care was given to help them make the transition to life outside the womb. 

“We waited many years for this,” the happy father Ahmad remarks. “We were fortunate to have time in the NICU – where we became confident in caring for all three babies and felt ready to take them home. My proud mother looks at me while I change the babies’ diapers, saying that Rambam taught me well.” He jokes, “To this day we can’t believe we have three sweet babies. Everyone at the local family health clinic looks at us in awe. Our babies are special. When they are a little older, we will go back to the NICU to thank the staff for everything they did and for the biggest gift they gave us.”

Another couple, Siwar Diab-Hijazi and her husband Mohammed, residents of Tamra in the Galilee, welcomed their triplets in July.

Two weeks later, in her 33rd week of pregnancy Najeeb Diab and her husband, welcomed their triplets – two boys and a girl. Coincidentally, Najeeb and Siwar are neighbors and good friends.

After spending three weeks in Rambam’s NICU, Najeebs’s triplets were ready to join their family at home. Najeeb shares, “We struggled to have children. After several years, finding out that we were pregnant with triplets was one the most exciting moments in my life. I remember hearing their heartbeats for the first time. I couldn’t believe it. I started crying out of happiness and also cried for joy during labor. We have come full circle. We are waiting to start our life as a family of five.”

Photo: Mohammed and Siwar Diab-Hijazi with their newborns.Photography: Rambam HCC

“Siwar is already more experienced than I,” Diab says jokingly, “She is giving me tips and advice about the local Family Health Clinic and home care. We always consult one another. It will be interesting to watch our triplets grow up together, in the same city, same unique circumstances.

Multiple pregnancies such as these are complex. Triplets are usually delivered during the 32nd week of pregnancy, or just of couple of weeks later if there is no risk to the mother and her infants. The specialist physicians and medical teams at Rambam’s Division of Gynecology and Obstetrics are experts in managing high-risk pregnancies and other complicated cases.  In such cases, the expectant mothers are hospitalized in the Maternal and Fetal Medicine Unit where they are continuously monitored throughout their pregnancy as well as during labor and delivery.

“Recently, we are seeing more and more multiple births – twins and triplets. It is very unusual.” Remarks Professor Zeev Weiner, the director of Rambam’s Division of Gynecology and Obstetrics. “These pregnancies require specialized care: regular check-ups, monitoring the pregnancy, and more. Multiples present an entirely different set of circumstances compared to a pregnancy with a single fetus. The fact that multiples are born in the later weeks of gestation is a testimony of how well-trained Rambam’s staff is in managing these complicated, high-risk pregnancies.”

Photo: Achmad and Suhad Badran with their babies. Photography: Rambam HCC