Gerri Wolfe Australian mother of many children who gave birth to her 11th and 12th children in an unusual way Country: Australia

1. Australian mother of 11 and 12 children
2. A unique procedure
3. The birth

Australian mother of 11 and 12 children

Jerry Wolf, a 41-year-old Australian woman, gave birth to her eleventh and twelfth children, twins Matilda and Violet, in a very unusual way, at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, New South Wales, just three days before Christmas. Wolf, a mother of many, was scheduled to have her fifth cesarean section. However, she did not want the procedure to be routine. She was disappointed to learn about the complications of her pregnancy at 36 weeks and that a vaginal birth was no longer possible. Wolf complained about her previous cesarean sections, describing them as sterile and impersonal. She felt that the doctors did not care about her during the births.

A unique procedure

However, Wolf suddenly remembered reading about a unique procedure in which the mother participates in the cesarean section. It is a regular operation performed by doctors, but with the difference that the mother is given the opportunity to deliver the baby herself at the end of the procedure. Initially, Wolf's obstetrician-gynecologist reacted to this suggestion with a firm "No." Her husband, Robert, tried to joke, saying that she just likes to create problems. Nevertheless, Wolf insisted, stating that it was her body, her birth, and her children. After conducting some research, the obstetrician-gynecologist changed his decision and took into account Wolf's special circumstances and her wish to be at least partially involved in the birth of her children. "The doctor was ready," says Wolf. "As soon as he realized that the risk of infection was not as great as he initially thought, I went to him and said, 'This is what I need to regain my maternal rights, to make the birth more personal for me, and to feel like a good mother.'" The mother-involved cesarean was meant to help Wolf have a closer bond with her children from the moment they were born.

The birth

On December 22, 2014, she was taken to the operating room, where her obstetrician "cleaned" her up before the procedure. Wolf wore two pairs of gloves up to her elbows and sat on the operating table after receiving an epidural anesthesia. She remained horizontal and removed the first pair of gloves, following strict instructions not to move her hands towards her chest. "I wasn't allowed to touch anything," she recalls. "I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything without permission. So, I remained completely sterile. I didn't touch anything." After a while, the doctor leaned towards her and said, "Are you ready to receive these babies?" Wolf replied, "Oh my goodness! Of course, I am!"

"I just reached out and pulled her (Matilda) to my chest. I held her with my left hand. One minute later, the doctor said, 'Now it's the other baby's turn.' Violet had some problems with presentation, so there were some difficulties in delivering her. I reached out with my right hand, and someone helped me turn her around so that I could also put her on my chest." Wolf remembers with great joy, "And now they were both next to me!" She says it was a wonderful feeling, and the procedure was not much different from natural childbirth. Matilda weighed 3.04 kg at birth, and Violet weighed 2.56 kg. The mother stayed in the hospital for a week after the birth to fully recover. Matilda and Violet are the youngest members of Jerry and Robert's already "loud and active" family, where there are ten other children. The oldest child, 19-year-old Mitchell, has long outgrown the stage of needing diapers and constant parental care. Today, he actively participates in the life of the large family. For 41-year-old Wolf, these were her last births. "They are my precious time stealers," Wolf says about her newborns. "I can stare at them for days on end."