'I was 10 years trying with IVF for a baby and then we got the shock that instead of one baby I got three'

Samantha Black's dream of a baby sister or brother for her 19-year-old daughter, Kayleigh looked doomed to failure after a decade of failed IVF treatments. The Carnaross woman's final attempt saw her give birth to thriving triplets Morgan, Madison and Junior, writes NOELLE FINEGAN

A Carnaross mother who spent almost ten years trying for a much longer for second child was overjoyed to welcome triplets at Cavan General Hospital on 22nd September.

Samantha Black's dream of a baby sister or brother for daughter Kayleigh, now 19, were dashed again and again after several failed attempts at IVF over the years and when an early pregnancy scan revealed three heartbeats on the screen after her last round of IVF, she couldn't believe it.

Initial fears on whether her body would be able to sustain a triplet pregnancy as she was now approaching 40, were soon replaced with joy and excitement as she watched her babies develop at weekly scans and prepared for the arrival of her three “miracles”. Thankfully the pregnancy went remarkably smoothly and shortly after midnight, in the early hours of Tuesday 22nd September, Samantha welcomed baby girls Madison and Morgan and baby boy Junior by caesarean section.

First out was Morgan Helen Black who weighed in at 3lb 5oz, swiftly followed a minute later by Madison Pamela Black (3lbs 11oz) and last born was little boy Junior William Black (3lbs 9oz) after just another minute.

Doctors, who had closely monitored the rare triplet pregnancy- only the second ever at Cavan General Hospital- were delighted with how healthy the babies were on birth and while they will spend a few weeks in special care until they get stronger and bottle feeding is established, they are doing remarkably well.

Samantha has been supported in her IVF journey by daughter Kayleigh, and wider family, mum Loretta and dad William and sister Pamela, and told how this was to be her last attempt.

“I was ten years trying with IVF for a baby and they had all been unsuccessful, then we got the surprise that instead of one baby I got three!” said Samantha.

“We had discussed it as a family, between myself and Kayleigh firstly and then my mam and dad and then my sister. I had kind of said this was the last shot at it basically, because of my age, I was about to turn 40.

“I went for an early pregnancy scan, six weeks after the embryo transfer. I thought the screen on front of me was mirroring but mam and Kayleigh had clearly copped that there were three babies. The midwife got the heartbeat of the first baby and then she said I'll get the heartbeat for the second one and then the third- there was a set of twins and a singleton in there.”

Samantha admits she was “kind of floored at the start”. “With my age and that, I thought will my body be able to sustain three of them when I had no luck all those years? But the team here in Cavan were brilliant. I had a neonatal specialist and my own consultant and the midwives. So we soon got our heads round it and then started to try work out the logistics of what actually I needed because it was three of everything!”

Samantha had weekly appointments and would see the neonatal specialist one week and her consultant the next who kept a close eye to make sure that everything was progressing well with the pregnancy.

“The neonatal specialist scanned the triplets and made sure their measurements and were correct because they had to stay within five per cent of each other, otherwise they had to come out but the three of them always stayed very close to each other with their weights, and there was only ever an ounce or two between them. Then the following week I would have an appointment with my consultant.

“They hadn't had triplets in Cavan Hospital in years and only ever had one other triplet pregnancy. They were running drills and everything in case I was to go early, to reassure me that they had everything under control and they kept telling me all I had to do was look after myself.”

Everything went well and Samantha only ended up in hospital once with a slight kidney infection. Because everything was going so well, doctors were happy to try to get to the 34 week mark but then little Morgan had other ideas and Samantha's waters broke on Monday evening, 21st September.

So instead of the planned section, it ended up being an emergency one but the hospital quickly had all the teams brought in and within two hours of arriving at hospital, the triplets were born at 00.13, 00.14 and 00.15.

Samantha told how she had been warned if she got any twinges not to get in a car, and to call an ambulance immediately. “The ambulance service had the house flagged as a triplet pregnancy and dispatch knew to ring Cavan Hospital and put them on high alert that we were on our way.”

The expert teams were called in, and there were about 30 people in the theatre altogether for the birth. The triplets all had their own teams as they were born with doctors, nurses and midwives working on each baby.

“The doctors were all commenting on how healthy they were, and couldn't believe it and they were delighted with their weights. Dr Finan, head paediatrician, said he expected that because my waters broke they would come out in worse condition, and he couldn't believe how pink they were and how strong they were. They were only on CPAT to regulate their breathing for a day and a half.”

For the next couple of days, Samantha sat with them and then on the Friday, came the incredibly emotional moment when she got to hold each baby for the first time- an experience she will never forget and always cherish.

Speaking to the Meath Chronicle on Friday, Samantha said they were continuing to do really well and are at full capacity with their feeding tubes and were very gradually being started on bottle feeding. All three seem to have their swallow so bottle feeding will very slowly be built up and tube feeding will be reduced.

“They estimate that the triplets will spend about five weeks in the special care unit and fingers crossed if everything goes smoothly it may drop down by a week but they said they take it step by step every day because they are so small and premature so anything can crop up which could extend their stay- but so far they are smashing everything that is put their way out of it.”

Their home in Carnaross is all ready to welcome home the three babies with their cribs set up and a mountain of nappies, all their bits and pieces, and a collection of bottles all ready to go. Samantha also had to change her car in advance as her Kia Ceed would not fit three car sets in the back row and she said thankfully she got to change cars before the babies made their appearance slightly earlier than planned.

Daughter Kayleigh is over the moon with her new siblings and Samantha joked that she would probably be fighting for a cuddle if Kayleigh gets her way!

Samantha has paid tribute to Cavan General Hospital for the excellent care she received during her pregnancy, at the time of the triplets birth and since.

“I genuine couldn't fault anything with Cavan General Hospital. They have gone above and beyond. For me coming in on that Monday night, I was a bit worried and a bit nervous but the minute they started talking to me and telling me the team was there and they were ready, I could feel the nerves lifting. I recognised the faces that were there, they were the people that were looking after me all along and I relaxed.”