6/1/2007 4:00:00 AM Hometown girl set to deliver sextuplets Simbric family awaits risky multiple birth
Facts & Figures on sextuplets
How rare are sextuplets?
As of January 2007, there had only been 160 documented cases worldwide.
According to Hellin's law, a hypothetical statistical matrix used to predict multiple childbirths worldwide, the chances of sextuplets occurring without to the use of fertility drugs are one in 4,704,270,167.
The first set to survive was born to Susan and Colin Rosekowitz in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1974.
There are currently 12 sets surviving. If all goes well, he Masche sextuplets would be the 13th.
Experts in the field of multiple births say their occurrence, especially those of the higher order (births of three or more) is on the increase.
The reason is the increased use of new fertility treatments.
Statistics out of Canada show that multiple births increased by 35 percent in the period from 1980 to 2000, mostly due to modern methods for treating infertility.
In the case of the case of Jenny and Bryan Masche, they chose intrauterine insemination instead of in-vitro fertilization.
The intrauterine insemination method raises the risk of multiple births of the higher order.
With intrauterine insemination, the woman is treated with FSH (follicle stimulation hormone), which stimulates the production of her eggs. This is then followed by insemination. The higher risk is due to the unpredictability of the number of eggs produced by the FSH treatment.
With in-vitro fertilization the egg and the sperm are joined outside the womb, thus giving some degree of control over the number of embryos.
Awaiting the birth of a first child is supposed to be one of the great experiences in anyone's life.
So why is it that if one is awaiting the birth of six children, it is not six times as great?
Sue Simbric can answer that one.
Her daughter Jenny Simbric Masche is currently in Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix doing everything in her power, and the power of modern medical science, to deliver sextuplets.
Trying to deliver six healthy babies, and look out for the welfare of the mother, has been anything but pleasant.
"The first time we heard she was pregnant with sextuplets we cried for a solid week. I just knew there was no way for my daughter to survive this. I seriously though I was going to lose her," Sue said.
Sue and her husband, Camp Verde pharmacist Bob Simbric, got the news on Dec. 29 and have been on pins and needles ever since.
Jenny Simbric Masche, born and raised in Camp Verde, now lives in Lake Havasu City with her husband Bryan Masche. She is a physician's assistant working in the emergency room at Kingman General Hospital. Bryan is a pharmaceutical representative.
They first met via e-mail through a mutual friend while he was serving in the Air Force in Kuwait. They met in person six moths later, Memorial Day weekend 2003. They married in January 2004.
After two miscarriages, the two sought help through a fertility clinic. After one round of injections to help Jenny produce eggs, she had an intrauterine insemination. It worked in ways they were not expecting.
"It was not an in-vitro fertilization," Sue Simbric said. "They wanted to God decide how many eggs were fertilized. And here we are."
Where they all are now is at Good Samaritan Hospital waiting, day by day, and holding out as long as Jenny can stand it.
Jenny has been under the care of Dr. John Elliot, a perinatologist and specialist in multiple births.
"Dr. Elliot has been so encouraging throughout the pregnancy," Sue said. "Working with him has been the difference between night and day for all of us."
Jenny has been in Good Samaritan since March 21. Sue has been at her side for the last three weeks.
"She was doing great for the first 26 weeks. Since then we have had big struggles," Sue said.
Drugs to help stimulate the baby's lungs brought on contractions. Drugs to relieve the contractions have made life miserable for Jenny.
"The magnesium sulfate she was given to relieve the contractions was the beginning of the end," Sue said. "I has been really, really difficult for her ever since."
The goal is to get the babies to 30 weeks -- a goal that Sue has been adamant in trying to achieve.
"It will be 29 weeks on Thursday [May 31]. If we make it through the weekend we will be happy," she said. "For every day she keeps the babies in the womb, they will spend two less day in intensive care."
Although Sue and Bob's concerns lie with their daughter and the babies, Sue said they also have to face up to the extraordinary medical costs associated with a multiple birth.
"We don't know how much for sure, but we estimate somewhere between $5 and $8 million," she said, "And even with good insurance it is still going to be a lot of money."
The couple has been receiving help from both friends and strangers alike, according to Sue. On June 23, Bob and Sue's son Jeff will be sponsoring a benefit golf tournament at Beaver Creek Golf Resort.
"We have also been adopted by a church in Phoenix that doesn't know us from Adam," Sue said.
Once the babies are born the costs will be about $25,000 per child, per day, in the natal intensive care unit, according to Sue. And once they are home, she said, they will use about 75 diapers per day.
"For now that is the least of our worries," Sue Simbric said. "The babies look great. They are kicking and their hearts are strong. Their prognosis is very good.
"But starting at 28 weeks, the risks to the mother increase. She is aware of those risks because she is a medical person. She's scared. It is just so hard. If she makes it to this weekend, and all are well, I will be the happiest person in the world."
As for Bob, he admits he doesn't do this sort of thing very well.
"I just get very emotional,'" he said. "But Jenny is an upbeat and positive type of person. She is doing as well as she is because of the person she is. I'm scared because we don't know what these things are like.
"We are just praying that nothing happens to Jenny that forces the babies to be taken before they are ready to come. We just don't want to go there."
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