Doctors Julio Amado Castanos Guzman, director of the Plaza de la Salud and Rodolfo Soto, president of the Dominican Society of Pediatrics, have called for rules on fertility treatments in the Dominican Republic.
“In just a few years we have seen several cases of quintuplets and sextuplets that were not seen in the past. An investigation into what is happening needs to be carried out… why are we seeing this phenomenon?”
Castanos Guzman says that there is no public health regulation on these treatments.
Pediatrics Society president Soto said that most cases of multiple births are occurring in poor households, which contributes to raising the high risk of this type of birth. The pediatrician urged obstetricians who offer fertilization procedures to improve their assessments of the suitability of the couples seeking this treatment.
The latest case involves a poor housewife, Aracelis Guzman from La Victoria, who gave birth to sextuplets, of whom five have survived so far.