Mom Who Refused Abortion Marks Quads’ 1st Birthday
A mother of quadruplets, who resisted pressure to abort two of her children, has celebrated all four babies’ first birthday.
Emma Robbins, 31, was repeatedly told to terminate two of her children to increase the chances of the other two babies surviving.
But she said she felt an “overwhelming sense of love” rush through her, and decided to go through with the pregnancies.
Robbins and husband Martin, 39, already had a 3-year-old son, when they tried for what they thought would be their second child.
But a scan showed that the couple were having four children.
Robbins said: “Each time I went to the hospital, it was all about the risks and asking me to consider aborting the twins to save the other two babies.
“But I knew that each time I looked at my surviving babies, I’d also be thinking about the ones I’d lost,” she added. “The thought of it broke my heart.”
She said she felt she was under immense pressure to have an abortion.
At 18 weeks, the couple were warned that 20 weeks was the latest time a termination could take place, but they refused again.
Robbins said: “We didn’t know how we’d manage financially and practically, but I felt it must have happened for a reason.
“I decided I’d do everything in my power to give birth to four healthy babies.”
Two months before the due date, the quadruplets were delivered by caesarean section, with Reuben weighing in at 2 pounds, 14 ounces; followed by Zachary, 2 pounds, 8 ounces; his twin Joshua, 3 pounds, 1 ounce; and finally Sam, 2 pounds, 13 ounces.
Robbins said: “I’d be lying if I said it was easy, but we’re so glad we never gave up on our babies.”
In her blog, Robbins wrote: “It has been the most challenging year of my life, but wow am I proud of where we are now and what we have gained from it all.”