On July 4 in Los Angeles, Sara Kahen Gutovich and her husband Rabbi Jay Gutovich welcomed their four children. When Sara Kahen Gutovich gave birth to quadruplets, she emphasized the importance of “positive vibes.” The 36-year-old California mother delivered two boys and two girls in perfect health on July 4 at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles.
Sara attributes her ability to “stay focused on what could go right” to her husband, Rabbi Jay Gutovich, family, and “Doogie Howser”.
She goes on to say about her doctor, “I was just given the space of like focusing on everything being good while he was calculating and monitoring for all the things that could go wrong.” Sara’s journey to becoming a mother of quadruplets came after a three-year battle with infertility that started soon after she gave birth to her son Chezzy, now three.
Rad can only guess that Sara conceived the four children in one of two ways: either with one IVF transfer and three spontaneous ovulation cycles, or through four spontaneous ovulation cycles. Sara and her family refer to the outcome as a “miracle.” “What’s happening?” She recalls asking, “Hold on, we’re not finished counting,” to which she was answered, “‘Hold on, we’re not finished counting.’”
The couple claims that certain individuals in their Orthodox Jewish community opposed their pregnancy.
When it first started, Jay recalls thinking, “Oh my God, this is really dangerous.” According to Rad, triplet or quadruplet pregnancies “are very high risk to the mother and fetus.”
“It put Sara and each fetus at risk for adverse outcomes, including stillbirth and maternal death,” he claims. Preterm birth, prematurity, stillbirth, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and severe maternal morbidity and death are the major concerns. Sara was a composite of five lifetimes. All five of those people’s lives are at danger if anything were to happen to just one of them.
But Sara was determined to carry her pregnancy to term from the start. She admits, “I was prepared to take the chance.” And Rad, as well as the entire staff at the Los Angeles Fetal & Maternal Care Center, where she had checkups and was checked on up to three times a week, never stopped encouraging the couple.
Sara suffered no issues as her pregnancy continued and the babies stayed healthy, but she was urged to monitor her diet, visit a chiropractor, and consult with other doctors, including a hematologist. Even at 33 weeks pregnant, she was in such fantastic health that she took her family to Disneyland! The couple and Rad had first set their sights on July 7 for the due date. It was Rad’s 39th birthday, which seemed like a suitable way to end Sara’s pregnancy journey, and she would have been 35 weeks along.
However, Sara began having contractions early, so at 34 weeks and 3 days it was decided to do a cesarean section. Sara claims that despite the presence of more than 40 doctors, nurses, and other specialists, “it was a freaking party in the delivery room.”
The infants were born less than an hour later. The boys, who have not yet been named, weighed 4 lbs., 13 oz., and 4 lbs., 15 oz., respectively, while Shira Chana and Chaya Nessya were the smallest and largest at 4 lbs., 2 oz. and 5 lbs., 9 oz. Approximately one week after they are released from the hospital, the boys will be circumcised and given names, according to Rad.
At birth, three of the infants required additional oxygen; however, Sara reports that all three are currently doing well. All of them should be back home by the end of the week, according to Dr. Rad, which is “absolutely amazing,” in his words.As they anticipate their future as a family of seven, the delighted parents are now content to reflect on their pregnancy adventure.
“It was absolutely miraculous,” Jay exclaims. “Sara was a true… I’m at a loss for words, to be honest. We were surrounded by the best people and she worked so hard. These factors, in my opinion, are what allowed us to avoid any difficulties. Because she stated, “Only good vibes.”
