Births lasting 4 days in 24 hours, an unusual ‘baby-boom’ at the San Paolo hospital in Milan

2023-12-29 21:36:20

Milan, 28-29 December. In the metropolis, preparations are underway to say goodbye to the old year and welcome 2024. The newspapers are dominated by the boom in flu cases crowding the emergency rooms in the region. Even at the San Paolo hospital there is a certain frenzy, but viruses have nothing to do with it. The reason is different, this time ‘happy’. The excitement is in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Operational Unit directed by Anna Maria Marconi. In the last 24 hours, obstetricians, gynecologists, childcare workers and operators have been dealing with an unexpected ‘boom’ of storks: 12 babies were born. In practice, the births lasted 4 days (3-3.5 is the daily average of the department, 1,200 per year), concentrated between 12.26 on 28 December and 12.32 on the 29th. In all 7 females and 5 males, from 4 foreign mothers and 7 Italian. Among them, a pair of twins.

The first to come into the world were two girls: one by caesarean section, weighing 3 kg and 70 grams, the other a few hours later (at 3.14 pm) with natural birth and weighing 3 kg and 260 grams, both foreigners. Then it’s the males’ turn, birth times 8.33pm and 9.50pm, just over an hour apart. Both from vaginal births and both Italian, the first weighing 3 kg and 880 grams and the second weighing 3 kg and 650 grams. Exactly an hour passes, and more cries. It’s 10.59pm and the San Paolo team greets a little girl weighing just over 2.8 kilograms, born from natural birth, Italian. It’s night, and it could end here, considering that the last few hours have already been above average. But no: at 3.21am on December 29th the routine starts again. She decides to come into the world, with natural birth, a 3 kg and 460 gram male, a foreigner. And a minute later – ideally ‘twins’ – a 3kg, 190g Italian girl.

Dawn arrives in the Asst Santi Paolo e Carlo hospital (which after the last round of appointments has a new general director, Simona Giroldi, and greets the old General Manager Matteo Stocco). It’s 8 in the morning and the caesarean sections start again. To be precise, at 8.12, another female arrives, Italian, weighing 2.6 kg. At 10.41 and 10.42, it is the turn of two twins, weighing 1.87 and 1.94 kg respectively, Italian and also born by caesarean section.

Not even half an hour passes and the ward team assists a foreign mother who, with a natural birth, gives birth to a boy. The baby traffic jam ends at 12.32pm with another male, Italian, weighing 4.1 kg, born by caesarean section. The ‘team’ of newborns is now complete, from the most ‘slender’ Elena (the 1.8 kg twin) to the largest Edoardo (the last born, weighing over 4 kg).

“The hospitals are full, the emergency rooms are clogged, but in the delivery room of the San Paolo we run with a smile – Anna Maria Marconi, director of the Operational Unit of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the San Paolo, university professor of Obstetrics, comments to time.news Salute and Gynecology and director of the Specialty School – In the last 24 hours the obstetricians, doctors, childcare workers and health professionals have done their utmost to give each of the 12 newborns the most special welcome. And for us operators the day is special also because the warbles of these 12 of our children bid farewell with us to our colleague Sebastiano Lomonico, a gynecologist, “who from tomorrow will be able to enjoy his well-deserved retirement. Who knows, will we end 2023 at this rate?”.