Having a child during the coronavirus pandemic involved challenges, complications, adapting to new protocols in order to take care of the lives of both mother and baby. Having four, Adriana Beramendi can attest, was even more complicated.
The woman, now 28 years old, lives in Salvador Mazza, a town in Salta near the border with Bolivia. The ambient sound while chatting with Clarín is made by Zoe, Jeziel, Adriel and Gabriel, the quadruplets who, fortuitously, were born in the Sardá maternity hospital in 2020, when Covid-19 dominated the situation.
Adriana was diagnosed at the age of 14 with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks platelets. In 2019, doctors determined she also had lupus.
A week later, she found out she was pregnant. Even then, he received the news with fear. Specialists had warned her and her husband, Ulises Choque, that because of her condition and the medication she was taking, it was risky to think about pregnancy. But the drawbacks were just beginning.
Multiple pregnancy at a distance
With her medical history in tow, the woman began the pertinent medical check-ups. The pregnancy, which came naturally, she clarifies, would not be easy, due to the health problems it entailed. And the ultrasound revealed that it could be worse.
Adriel, Zoe, Ulysses and Jeziel at the Sardá Maternity Hospital. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP.
There wasn't one baby, not two, not three: the couple was expecting quadruplets. The shock was total: what would happen from then on, how would they achieve it? During one of the consultations at the hospital, they noticed that Beramendi's document had expired and informed her that, until it was renewed, they would not be able to continue treating her or giving her the necessary medication.
By then, the woman already required a daily ampoule of enoxaparin, something she could not afford on her own. The intervention of the State, through the hospital, was fundamental. For this reason, he decided to travel to Buenos Aires, his hometown, since that would speed up the DNI procedures.
And from then on there was a string of complications that would last for several months. When the quarantine was decreed and while her high-risk pregnancy progressed, she was stranded in Buenos Aires. He had traveled with his mother for a few days, with money and luggage commensurate with that stay, and ended up staying for more than six months.
The quadruplets, today, at three years old. Photo courtesy.
Her husband, meanwhile, was also stranded, but in Bolivia (where he is from). She planned to stay at her family's home for the days it took Adriana to do the paperwork, but the pandemic seemed to twist each of the couple's intentions.
She's in Capital, he's in Bolivia and a global pandemic in between. Beramendi was hospitalized and thus went through not only the remaining time of gestation but also the three months following the birth of the children, who were premature. "You could say it was all against me," he recalled.
Half a year in the hospital
"The doctor told me that I had to be hospitalized for at least a week, because being quadruplets they were very specific studies," Adriana said. But the stay extended considerably further.
Adriana Beramendi with Zoe, when she was still in neonatology. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP.
The distance from her husband, the fear of Covid, her pre-existing illnesses and economic difficulties (while she was in the hospital her mother slept in a shelter in the City for homeless people) made the pregnancy a complex period. "But I'll be honest, I only had the head to think that my children would be born well, that was the only thing I was thinking about at the time," she said.
The quadruplets finally arrived at 30 weeks gestation and spent three more months in neonatology. Their father – who until that moment had only seen them by photo – was able to travel and meet them after that, when they were all discharged. Although from a health point of view the day of the discharge represented great news, it also involved a concern: where would the whole family go from then on?
"The moment of discharge was very hard, imagine that I was hospitalized for six months, the pandemic was very strong at that time, I had nowhere to live, I had absolutely nothing for my children. When they told me that I was about to be discharged, I asked the psychologist. Imagine that I was there for six months and I didn't even go down to the door of the hospital: now I had to think about where I was going to live, the things my children needed, the clothes, the diapers, the milk, a place to sleep." There were three adults (the couple and Adriana's mother) and four newborns stranded in Buenos Aires due to more than extraordinary circumstances.
The woman gets emotional when she remembers the solidarity she saw in those days: "I had a lot of help from many people, including the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, who got me an apartment and so they only discharged me when the house was already adapted for the children. And the people who heard the news helped me a lot. They donated clothes, strollers, diapers, milk. I remember it and it makes me want to cry."
Three Years Later
Today Zoe, Jeziel, Adriel and Gabriel are 3 years old, live in Salta with their mom and dad and are in good health. "They are restless, talkative, cute, good, affectionate and feisty," Beramendi said, smiling.
The whole family: Adriana, Ulysses and the quadruplets. Photo courtesy.
Zoe is flirtatious and cheerful, according to her mother. Jeziel is a fan of dinosaurs, affectionate and loves animals. Adriel is more aloof and serious and likes to take care of his siblings. Gabriel, on the other hand, is the most demonstrative.
Adriana wakes up at 5 a.m., cleans, tidies and organizes the house until 7 a.m., when the kids wake up. From there, all the activities involved in parenting begin, multiplied by four and simultaneously.
Beyond the demanding demand of the quadruplets, the most difficult part is the economic one, the woman reflected. Ulises works as a driver, but the expenses multiply: "There are many things that we need as they grow. We haven't lacked what to eat or how to dress them, but we don't have enough either," he acknowledged with concern.
"They are restless, talkative, cute, good, affectionate and 'feisty,'" Adriana Beramendi said. Photo courtesy.
Beyond all the obstacles, he said, the balance of this family is always positive: "It has been three years and seven months that fill us with joy and happiness. In spite of everything, we are rowing and improving every day."
Those who want to collaborate with the Choque Beramendi quadruplets can contact the family through the following channels:
- Mail: los4beramendi@gmail.com
- Instagram: @beramendiadriana
- TikTok: @los4choqueberamendi