Despite having endometriosis, the mother of quintuplets admitted to being “shocked” by the news. Having quintuplets naturally is exceedingly unlikely; it happens in only 1 in every 55,000,000 births.
When Kim Tucci became pregnant and learned she was carrying not just one child, but five, she and her husband Vaughn were taken aback.
The devoted Perth, Australia, parents already had children named Ava and Indiana. They were a family of 10, with Kim having a son called Kurt from a prior marriage.
Kim said to 60 Minutes Australia in 2018 that “it’s kind of like a dream.” It’s as though I’m doing it, but I make an effort not to give it too much thought since so many people rely on me.
Vaughn desired his own boy, so the couple decided to try for another child; little did they realize that Vaughn would receive his son, plus four more girls.
Kim remembered her confusion when she learned there were five heartbeats during a prenatal scan: “I simply exclaimed ‘What?! There are five heartbeats?’ And she said, “Yep,” and I questioned, “What even is there? “, to which they replied, “That’s quintuplets.”
When informed she was carrying five children at once, Kim said she “didn’t even know the term for” quintuplets. She continued, “I smiled at first and then my body went into shock – began to tremble, and then they said, “I believe you need to contact your husband.”
Kim believed she was carrying “approximately seven kilograms of baby and placenta” soon before giving birth in January 2016, after having five kids in her womb for 30 weeks who were all above average size.
Within two minutes, the parents delivered son Keith and daughters Ali, Penelope, Tiffany, and Beatrix through C-section, each weighing between 1.2 and 1.3 kilos.
Vaughn exclaimed, “Seeing them for the first time as they came out was the best thing. Doctor Jan identifying them as she was bringing them out was absolutely incredible.”
The quintuplets, who were delivered 10 weeks early and taken to critical care, had to wait until they were watched 24 hours a day before Kim and Vaughn could take them home.
The infants started breathing on their own after six weeks, and their delighted parents often post updates of their large family of 10 on social media.
