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23 November 2007, 14:07Rector of the biggest Orthodox university in Moscow baptized his quintuplets granddaughters in Oxford clinics
Moscow, November 23, Interfax – Rector of the St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov, whose daughter has recently given birth to quintuplets-girls in England, baptized the babies on the very day of their birth.
‘I baptized my granddaughters right after they were born in an Oxford clinics on November 10’, the priest told Interfax.
He said that his daughter was being on the mend after the complicated childbearing and had been already discharged from the clinics.
According to Father Vladimir, his wife and he came to England to see their pregnant daughter Varvarara Artamkin early in November. She had already been in clinics in grave condition. The priest was going to come back to Moscow and gave communion to his daughter on November 9, but on the night of November 10 the delivery started. A cesarean section was performed on the woman.
‘We were waiting in a special room for relatives and prayed for Varvara and her children. We were told that everything was alright at 1 a.m. Even the doctors said that it was a real miracle and they almost did not hope for such an outcome’, the interviewee of the agency said.
The grandfather was let in to see the babies in two hours. The quintuplets, the weight of each was less than a kilogram, were placed in special incubators. In that very room Father Vladimir conducted the sacrament of baptism. The girls were named: Yelizaveta, Alexandra, Nadezhda, Tatiana and Varvara.
According to the priest, Varvara could not have children for a long time. She turned to doctors, and they prescribed her pills to stimulate ovulation, but the doze was too big, and soon it became clear that she had a multiple pregnancy.
‘We are often asked if we used in vitro fertilization (fertilization in a test tube - IF). Varavara did not turn to this method. The doctors supposed they had succeeded, but said that the ‘reduction’ was required, and three of five children should have been mortified during early terms of pregnancy. Otherwise, Varvara’s life and lives of her children were in danger. Varvara declined the reduction’, Father Vladmir noted.
‘We learned that there was an Oxford-based center, specializing in difficult pregnancies and raising premature babies. We talked to Dr. Lawrence Emley and he agreed to help Varvara, though he did not make any optimistic diagnosis’, he said.
Varvara and her husband Dmitry are living in a flat rented by benefactors. Their five daughters are still in the hospital, but the artificial respiratory units have been already disconnected.
‘When the babies gain strength and be prepared to the flight, they will come back to Russia. Most likely, it will be in the beginning of the next year. Certainly, it will take a lot of effort, but we do not think about it. The most important thing is that Varvara and her children were healthy’, the priest said.
He is sure that ‘the miracle happened thanks to the prayers of many people, hope for God’s help, and generosity of good friends’.
‘We are sincerely grateful to everyone’, Father Vladimir added.
As was reported, Varvara Artamkin refused abortion for religious reasons in spite of great risk to her own health. The 29-year-old music teacher gave birth to her babies in Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital 14 weeks earlier the planned date. 18 doctors and nurses attended the operation and worked in shifts. |
