Bobbi and Kenny McCaughey fell in love, got married and decided to start a family. The only problem was that Bobbi was born with a malfunctioning pituitary gland and as a result she suffered from fertility problems. In 1996 they were blessed with a baby girl, and they named her Mikayla Marie.This couple couldn’t have any children, and then a miracle happened and they had a daughter. But they would never have believed what would happen when they tried for a second child and received septuplets instead. The road to this unique birth was anything but easy. This is a story about faith, miracles, and what true love means even in the face of the most difficult times.The birth attracted significant media attention, both positive and negative, including a feature in Time magazine in December 1997.[7] "In the beginning, for every ten letters we would get that were happy for us, we'd get one letter accusing us of exploiting the kids and being selfish to waste the world's resources on a family this big," said Bobbi in a 2007 interview. "Our neighbors never gawked. Here in Carlisle they gave us privacy. But we had complete strangers come around to the back door, knock, and ask if they could hold a baby."[8]
The McCaugheys were the recipients of many donations, including a 5500 ft² (511 m²) house, a van and diapers for the first two years, as well as nanny services, clothes, and even the State of Iowa offering full college scholarships to any state university in Iowa upon their maturity and graduation from high school, also by the Hannibal–LaGrange University in Missouri. President Bill Clinton personally telephoned the McCaugheys to wish them his congratulations. The surviving Dionne quintuplets – Yvonne Dionne, Annette Allard, and Cecile Langlois – wrote a letter warning the parents to keep the septuplets out of the public eye and not allow them to fall into the same pitfalls as their parents did, but wished them the best of luck in raising them and their personal congratulations.[9]
By the time of the septuplets' tenth birthday in 2007, the family was declining most requests for interviews, other than annual stories with KCCI (the Des Moines CBS television affiliate) and Ladies' Home Journal. Bobbi McCaughey has noted that the level of media attention does not necessarily mean they have granted many interviews, saying, "There was all kinds of stuff in the papers early on but they never actually interviewed us. Most of it is one paper quoting another."[
The McCaugheys occasionally speak at anti-abortion events and continue to oppose selective reduction. Bobbi has been quoted as saying, "Well, come to our house, and tell me which four I shouldn't have had!"] The family continues to attend a Baptist church in West Des Moines where Kenny serves as a deacon. In 2010, TLC made a documentary for the septuplets' thirteenth birthday.The McCaughey septuplets (born November 19, 1997) (pronounced "McCoy"), are septuplets born to Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey in Des Moines, Iowa.
The McCaugheys had one daughter, Mikayla Marie, born January 3, 1996.[While under treatment with ovulation-stimulating Metrodin for infertility, Bobbi became pregnant with seven babies. The McCaugheys, residents of the town of Carlisle, declined selective reduction to reduce the number of infants, saying that they would "put it in God's hands". The obstetricians primarily responsible for the medical care of the babies were Karen Drake and Paula Mahone.
The septuplets, four boys and three girls, were born nine weeks prematurely in Des Moines on November 19, 1997.They were born by Caesarean section, all within six minutes.They are the world's first set of surviving septuplets.
| Baby order | Birth weight | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 lb 4 oz (1.5 kg) | Kenneth (Kenny) Robert |
| 2 | 2 lb 11 oz (1.2 kg) | Alexis May |
| 3 | 2 lb 10 oz (1.2 kg) | Natalie Sue |
| 4 | 2 lb 5 oz (1.0 kg) | Kelsey Ann |
| 5 | 3 lb 3 oz (1.4 kg) | Nathan Roy |
| 6 | 2 lb 14 oz (1.3 kg) | Brandon James |
| 7 | 2 lb 15 oz (1.3 kg) | Joel Steven |
