When a woman from Carlisle gave birth In 1997, she didn’t know that she would make history. This did not occur to her even after giving birth to 7 surviving babies.

Bobbi McCaughey was 29 years old when she underwent a Caesarean section performed by more than 40 specialists for her Septuplets to be born safely. And when her babies were born, this became the first time in the history of our country that a woman gave birth to that many surviving multiples.

McCaughey had taken Pergonal. This is one of the proven fertility drugs to help her conceive. Doctors say that the more fetuses a woman carries at once, the more risky the pregnancy becomes not only for the babies, babies but for the mother as well. There is also a good chance that the babies will not be healthy and can be born premature, live with cerebral palsy, brain damage, blindness, mental retardation or other developmental problems with speech and motor skills.

And the fact that McCaughey became pregnant with seven children and gave birth to all healthy babies was being examined by many experts worldwide.

The septuplets have another sibling. They have an older sister, Mikayla. And wanting to have another child, the family ended up with seven more kids. And having this many was not surely easy for the family. Thankfully, a lot of people helped. They received many gifts and financial support. Also, they received a 5,500 square foot house, a family-sized van, and diapers enough to last 2 years. The family also received nanny services, free clothes and free future scholarships for college.

Giving birth to these babies only took less than 10 minutes. Then four boys and three girls were born. The smallest baby was 2.5 pounds and the biggest baby was 3.4 pounds. They were two months premature so it was surely a miracle that all of them were born alive. In fact, the healthy delivery surprised even the doctors. Everyone was so excited to welcome the new Septuplets into the world.

But even though everyone was happy and excited for the family, it cannot be denied that some people criticized the parents as well. During an interview, Bobbi said, “In the beginning, for every ten letters we would get that were happy for us, we’d get one letter accusing us of exploiting the kids and being selfish to waste the world’s resources on a family this big. Our neighbors never gawked. Here in Carlisle they gave us privacy. But we had complete strangers come around to the back door, knock, and ask if they could hold a baby.”

The Septuplets made headlines and gained nationwide support. In fact, they were able to meet former President Bush when they were in kindergarten. They were also offered free college education from several universities once they were seniors in high school. The family feels blessed as they have seen so much opportunity for their kids.

Although having more siblings than other kids have may seem overwhelming, they love it. The Septuplets tried to stay out of the media spotlight as much as possible but have made occasional appearances to update everyone how they are all doing well. And they are surely doing well!

They have all graduated high school and are looking towards their bright future! Also, the family remains to be very close through the years!