CHANCES OF HAVING QUINS WILL LESSEN

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30979, 8 February 1966, Page 2

CHANCES OF HAVING QUINS WILL LESSEN

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND. February 7. The chances of quintuplets being born to women treated with gonadotrophin hormone from the human pituitary gland will lessen as the treatment is modified.

In an article in the latest issue of the British journal, the “Lancet,” describing in detail the treatment given to Mrs S. W. Lawson, the mother of the Auckland quintuplets, the statement is made: “Future modification of therapy will no doubt diminish the chances of a repetition of this sequence of events.”

It is understood that from now on there Will be an even closer examination of patients’ hormone responses from hour to hour. The hormone dosage will be suited to every individual patient, each of whom may be different in her response to treatment.

But the article, written by two senior lecturers at the post-graduate school of obstetrics and gynaecology, University of Auckland, Mr G. C. Liggins and Dr. H. K. Ibbertson, makes it clear that excessive dosage had not been given to Mrs Lawson. They say: “Excessive dosage of chorionic gonadotrophin might stimulate multiple ovulation, but it is unlikely to have been contributory in this patient, since the initial dose was a quarter of that recommended by Crooke.” (A. C. Crooke is a British obstetrician). Multiple pregnancy with as many as seven foetuses was recognised as a hazard of treatment with human pituitary gonadotrophin, the article said.

“Gemzell in 1964 reported 25 pregnancies of 50 infertile women, half of whom produced twins or quadruplets, and Crooke in 1965 described

24 treated patients in whom there were two sets of twins in 10 completed pregnancies. “Quintuplet pregnancy has been estimated to occur spontaneously once in every 20 to 40 million births,” said the article.

“Although the risk is undoubtedly increased by human pituitary gonadotrophin treatment, the frequency is still low and the chance of a complete set of live births is very small.”