McCaughey septuplets

The McCaughey septuplets (born November 19, 1997), are septuplets (seven offspring) born to Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. They are the world's first set of surviving septuplets.

Bobbi and Kenny McCaughey (pronounced "McCoy") had one daughter, Mikayla Marie, born January 3, 1996.[1] While under treatment with ovulation-stimulating Metrodin for infertility,[2] Bobbi became pregnant with seven babies. The McCaugheys, residents of the town of Carlisle, declined selective reduction to reduce the number of infants, saying that they would "put it in God's hands". The obstetricians primarily responsible for the medical care of the babies were Karen Drake and Paula Mahone.

The septuplets, four boys and three girls, were born nine weeks prematurely in Des Moines on November 19, 1997.[3] They were born by Caesarean section, all within six minutes.[4] They were the world's first set of surviving septuplets.[5]

Baby orderSexBirth weightName
1Boy3 lb 4 oz (1.5 kg)Kenneth (Kenny) Robert
2Girl2 lb 11 oz (1.2 kg)Alexis May
3Girl2 lb 10 oz (1.2 kg)Natalie Sue
4Girl2 lb 5 oz (1.0 kg)Kelsey Ann
5Boy3 lb 3 oz (1.4 kg)Nathan Roy
6Boy2 lb 14 oz (1.3 kg)Brandon James
7Boy2 lb 15 oz (1.3 kg)Joel Steven

Two of the septuplets, Alexis (the oldest girl of the set, 2nd oldest if including Mikayla Marie) and Nathan (the 2nd oldest boy of the set), have cerebral palsy. Both used walkers to get around, and in November 2005 Nathan had spinal surgery in order to improve his walking abilities.[2]

Public response

The birth attracted significant media attention, both positive and negative, including a feature in Time magazine in December 1997.[6] "In the beginning, for every ten letters we would get that were happy for us, we'd get one letter accusing us of exploiting the kids and being selfish to waste the world's resources on a family this big," said Bobbi in a 2007 interview. "Our neighbors never gawked. Here in Carlisle they gave us privacy. But we had complete strangers come around to the back door, knock, and ask if they could hold a baby."[7]

The McCaugheys were the recipients of many donations, including a 5500 ft² (511 m²) house, a van and diapers for the first two years, as well as nanny services, clothes, and even the State of Iowa offering full college scholarships to any state university in Iowa upon their maturity and graduation from high school, also by the Hannibal–LaGrange University in Missouri. President Bill Clinton personally telephoned the McCaugheys to wish them his congratulations.[5] The surviving Dionne quintuplets- Yvonne Dionne, Annette Allard, and Cecile Langlois- wrote a letter warning the parents to keep the septuplets out of the public eye and not allow them to fall into the same pitfalls as their parents did, but wished them the best of luck in raising them and their personal congratulations.[8]

By the time of the septuplets' tenth birthday in 2007, the family was declining most requests for interviews, other than annual stories with KCCI (the Des Moines CBS affiliate) and Ladies' Home Journal. Bobbi McCaughey has noted that the level of media attention does not necessarily mean they have granted many interviews, saying, "There was all kinds of stuff in the papers early on but they never actually interviewed us. Most of it is one paper quoting another."[7][9]

Bobbi and Kenny McCaughey occasionally speak at pro-life events and continue to oppose selective reduction. Bobbi has been quoted as saying, "Well, come to our house, and tell me which four I shouldn't have had!" The family continues to attend a Baptist church in West Des Moines where Kenny serves as a deacon.[7] In 2010, TLC made a documentary for the septuplets' thirteenth birthday that aired on December 28, 2010.

The septuplets graduated from high school in May 2016.[10] Natalie, Kelsey, Nathan and Joel took up scholarships offered by private Hannibal-LaGrange University in Hannibal, Missouri, Kenny and Alexis chose to stay in the Des Moines area and attend Des Moines Area Community College, and Brandon enlisted in the United States Army.[11] Brandon will be the first one to get married as he was engaged to Alana Hale and will wed in July 2018.

References

  1. ↑ "Bobbi McCaughey's Weekly Journal". 16 April 2003. Archived from the original on 16 April 2003.
  2. 1 2 "Eight is great for the McCaughey septuplets". MSNBC. January 15, 2006.
  3. ↑ "See The McCaughey Septuplets All Grown Up!". Good Housekeeping. 2015-11-18. Retrieved 2016-12-24.
  4. ↑ "Septuplets' mom recalls 'terror,' joy". MSNBC. November 26, 1997. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Stump, Scott (September 16, 2015). "World's first set of surviving septuplets to turn 18: See the McCaughey family on TODAY". Today. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey". Time. December 1, 1997.
  7. 1 2 3 Mungons, Kevin (November 2007). "The McCaughey Family is Completely Normal". Baptist Bulletin.
  8. ↑ "Open letter from the Dionne quintuplets". 1997.
  9. ↑ Curry, Ann (December 12, 2007). "After 10 years, new adventures for septuplets: The McCaughey family goes to Spain and the world's first surviving septuplets cope with life getting more complex". Dateline stories.
  10. ↑ Haley, Charly (May 22, 2016). "McCaughey septuplets graduate high school". The Des Moines Register.
  11. ↑ "4 of the McCaughey Septuplets Start College at Hannibal-LaGrange University". People. August 28, 2016.
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