CTV News Producer welcomes triplets ahead of Multiple Births Awareness Day

One week ago, CTV Atlantic’s Andrea Jerrett gave birth to three beautiful baby girls.

Now, with Sunday marking Multiple Births Awareness Day, Jerrett is sharing her experience of carrying triplets.

Just one day shy of 28 weeks gestation, Jerrett gave birth to triplets via emergency C-section.

“That is pretty early for triplets, but we always expected they would be born early,” said Jerrett. “Thankfully, they seem to be doing really, really well.”

Jerrett’s first of three girls, Eleanor “Ella” Elizabeth Munro, was born at 3:12 a.m., followed by Madelyn Alexandra Munro at 3:13 a.m. and Michaela Mary Munro at 3:14 a.m.

Jerrett’s husband, John Munro, couldn’t believe it when he found out he was going from a father of one to a father of four. What made the news even more special for Munro is the fact that he’s a twin himself.

“I’m being told by the doctors here that it’s actually more on the female side in terms of having twins,” said Munro. “So even though I’m a twin, I don’t think that actually factors into it. It makes it even more rare, so I’m even more excited that I get to have twins.”

Jordyn Mercer, a registered nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at the IWK Children’s Hospital, noted that 60 per cent of multiple pregnancies are born pre-term.

“Carrying three babies is a lot,” said Jerrett. “It’s a lot on your mental health. It’s a lot on your physical health.”

Even at just 27 weeks, she says the multiple pregnancies took a toll on her, admitting “it really is a much tougher pregnancy to carry out than a single pregnancy.”

“If you’re pregnant with multiples, you really can’t and you really shouldn’t push yourself, as much as women tend to push ourselves,” said Jerrett. As hard as it might be to sit back and let someone else take the reins, she added “you kind of don’t have a choice.”

The three little bundles of joy remain in the NICU for the time being, but Jerrett and Munro aren’t the only ones excited to bring the babies home --- their firstborn, Amelia, is now a big sister.

“Part of me feels guilty because we’re not here all the time because we have our daughter at home, we do go home at night and spend time with her,” said Jerrett. “It’s a tough balance between being here with the babies but then also being at home with your daughter too.”

Munro wants prospective parents to know that while the initial news could bring a scare, becoming a parent to multiples is an experience unlike any other.

“I think if you find out you’re having twins, I’m sure at first it’s got to be terrifying,” said Munro. “But that bond they have is really special and different than anything you could imagine.”