If she continued the pregnancy, the two sons would continue to grow and be healthy before birth, but the daughter would be at risk of death. With the remaining option – giving birth at 28 weeks – all three children would be in danger, but it would give the daughter a chance to survive.

Parents will do anything for their children’s safety. But what happens when they have to put the safety of one child above the others? That may be any parent’s worst nightmare, but it’s exactly what this couple experienced.

Chloe Dunstan (22 years old) and her husband, Rohan (26 years old), are parents of three sons: Evan (3 years old), Otto (2 years old), and Felix (1 year old). However, they still wanted another child to make their family bigger. And Chloe became pregnant again. This time, the good news multiplied when she learned she was pregnant not only with triplets, but triplets.

But the joy didn’t last long. One day, at a routine prenatal checkup, she received some bad news. According to the doctor, the two boys (Henry and Rufus) were developing well, but their younger sister, Pearl, was not so lucky. The two boys were blocking Pearl’s oxygen and nutrients, causing her to face numerous health problems.

At this point, they faced two choices: continue the pregnancy and risk their daughter’s death, or risk giving birth to all three prematurely – a move that could endanger the lives of all three children.

She didn’t know what to do. If she continued the pregnancy, Henry and Rufus would continue to grow and be healthy before birth. But the problem was, Pearl wouldn’t be able to be born. With the remaining option – giving birth at 28 weeks – all three babies could be in danger, but it would give Pearl a chance to survive. The couple was at a crossroads.

And then they made their final decision.

On July 3, 2015, Chloe gave birth to her triplets, Henry, Rufus, and Pearl, much earlier than their due date. Because they were born prematurely, all three were underweight: Henry weighed 1.37 kg, Rufus 1.2 kg, and Pearl only 690 grams. All three required blood transfusions. However, Pearl faced the most challenges.

Chloe recounted: “Pearl had a ductus arteriosus. She also had pulmonary hemorrhage, mild brain hemorrhage, and battled infections. Those were days when we weren’t sure if she would make it, especially in the first few weeks when she was on a ventilator.” Not only that, Pearl also suffered from a bone metabolism disorder requiring medication and had jaundice throughout her hospital stay.

“I felt so guilty giving birth to two sons even though she was developing very well in the womb. But Pearl would have died if she hadn’t been born early. So, I won’t regret it. I remember at one point I was torn between letting her go so her two brothers could develop better and have the best start in life. But now she’s here, and my heart aches every time I think about not having her in this world,” the mother of triplets said.

Finally, after a few weeks, everything was fine. After 9 weeks in the hospital, Henry and Rufus were discharged, but it wasn’t until 2 weeks later that Pearl was able to return home with her parents and brothers.

The Dunstan family’s journey of raising their children has been shared on social media and received much praise. Each developmental milestone of Chloe’s children is shared and updated on her Instagram page. She said, “At this point, I still can’t say exactly what the future holds, but my three children will be strong and healthy without any problems. Pearl still has to take a lot of medication, mostly vitamin supplements. Every day, they wake up around 4 to 5 a.m. to eat. It takes me over an hour to feed them all, change their diapers, and get them back to sleep. Sometimes I feel like this is a never-ending cycle.”

Two months after birth, Henry weighed 3.5 kg, Rufus 3 kg, and Pearl 2 kg. All three are very close and affectionate. She said, “They almost fall asleep immediately when they’re together.”