Like many newly married, young couples, Jacquie and Josh Mauter of Mesa were excited to grow their family. They had enjoyed a few years of married life and decided they were ready to try for a baby.
Getting pregnant didn’t take long, however, the couple experienced three early miscarriages, leaving them defeated and frustrated.
They turned to a fertility clinic for some answers.
“We got a bunch of tests done and nothing came up,” said Jacquie.
Conceiving Multiples
As recommended by their fertility doctor, Jacquie and Josh made the decision to try intrauterine insemination (IUI) to see if it could improve their chances of conceiving. But after four rounds with no success at getting pregnant, they were ready to call it quits.
They took a short break from all of the medical interventions, then decided to give IUI one more shot. This time, they had four follicles; two that were mature, which the doctor explained increased their likelihood of twins.
“Initially they told me that I had high HCG levels, but we thought that was normal since we knew twins could be possible,” said Jacquie. “Then around week 6 we did an ultrasound and it was really shocking. Initially it looked like 3 babies. There was a fourth one, but it was really small with no fetal pull.”
Much to their surprise though, at their next ultrasound – just one week later – the fourth one showed a fetal pull and it was official: they were pregnant with quadruplets!
“Honestly we were just quiet,” said Jacquie reflecting back on finding out the news. “It sort of felt like we were in a dream.”
A Complicated Pregnancy
At first, Jacquie’s pregnancy seemed to be smooth sailing. The couple was enjoying sharing their news with family and friends, and went on to reveal that all four babies were girls.
“I loved being pregnant,” Jacquie said. “I didn’t have many symptoms, felt good, had a lot of energy, and didn’t feel sick.”
However, at 23 weeks, doctors noticed Jacquie’s blood pressure starting to increase. With preeclampsia being especially common in pregnancies with multiples, she was told to take it easy.
Unfortunately, by 24 weeks her blood pressure had not improved and she was told she would need to be admitted to the hospital.
“I had just had my baby shower because we were preparing to deliver early, we just didn’t know it would be this early,” said Jacquie. “I didn’t want to go to the hospital, but knew I had to. It was all a shock.”
While doctors’ attempted to lower Jacquie’s blood pressure in the hospital, they then discovered that one of the babies was no longer growing and not expected to survive. Jacquie and Josh were then faced with a difficult decision: Either let the baby pass in utero, or deliver all four babies right then and there.
“I knew I was going to have to deliver in a few days anyway, so we made the decision to deliver them all at once. We didn’t want to deliver a stillborn.”
An Unexpected NICU Journey
Rylee, Brooklyn, Peyton, and Morgan were born via caesarean at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Phoenix on August 23, 2024.
All of the girls were immediately taken to the NICU – each weighing in less than two pounds; with baby Brooklyn the smallest and less than a pound.
Just 26 hours later, baby Brooklyn passed away.
“Doctors discovered that her esophagus didn’t connect – and she was too small to even operate on,” said Jacquie. “Even at full term she would have needed surgery.”
With a whirlwind of emotions happening all at once, Jacquie said it was all a very traumatizing experience that she is still working through.
“I have these three others that need us; I can’t even think about what happened. I just shut it out right now. I know it will hit eventually.”
With multiple complications including Jacquie being readmitted to the hospital twice for extremely high blood pressure, a collapsed lung for baby Peyton, along with all the hurdles premature babies face, it has been a bumpy ride of the Mauter family.
However, Jacquie said they are grateful for the NICU team at St. Joseph’s Medical Center and are trusting the process as it unfolds.
“The nurses and doctors have been incredible,” said Jacquie. “The things they do for these babies are truly insane.”
For now, the babies remain in the NICU until they reach the criteria and growth needed to be discharged. Jacquie and Josh do their best to visit and care for them as much as they can, and look forward to the day when they can take their babies home.
“People don’t realize we haven’t even heard them cry,” said Jacquie. “We’re so excited for just the basics. I don’t even feel overwhelmed – even though I’m sure it’s going to be really hard – I’m just excited.”