Saving Unborn Triplets

You're such a sweetie, aren't you? When Lori Titus found out she was having not one baby, not two babies, but three identical babies, she was stunned. Oh, it was a big shock at first, but once I got used to the idea, I was just like, cool, we're having three babies. But shock turned to concern when her doctor spotted a serious problem. I was about 18 weeks pregnant, and he sat me down and he said, "Listen, if we don't do something, your babies are going to die." Whether it's triplets or twins, identical babies share the same placenta and are at risk of a life-threatening complication called twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, or TTTS. One baby sends blood via blood vessel connections that are on the surface of the placenta to the other baby, so one baby loses blood; the other baby has too much blood volume. To fix the problem, maternal fetal medicine specialists insert a tiny scope into the surface of the placenta. A camera allows doctors to see each baby and the network of blood vessels. A laser beam then seals shut any shared blood vessels - stopping blood flow between babies. It gives the babies a chance of survival. It's because you're doing a single procedure. The procedure was more difficult for Lori's triplets. You're not done just by lasering one pair. You have to laser the connections between all three. It was a triple success, and now Lori is on to bigger challenges. The most challenging part right now, it's got to be the lack of sleep. You know, I just look at their little faces and it's all worth it. Triple worth it. I'm Jacquilene London reporting.