Pregnant Woman Forced Into Heartbreaking Decision—Her Life or Five Babies
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
After finding out she was pregnant with five babies, one woman had to make a heartbreaking decision to save her own life and the lives of two of her unborn children.
Chelsae Michelle Jenner and her husband already had three sons, but they wanted to try for one more as they could finally have a girl. They went through intrauterine insemination (IUI), and, just nine days later, she got the exciting news that she was pregnant.
But, by the time her pregnancy reached five weeks and four days, the joy faded, only to be replaced with heartbreak. Jenner, who resides in Austin, Texas, discovered that there were five sacs and potentially a sixth. She told Newsweek that it was "a very dangerous situation."
"My doctor immediately told me this wasn't good news," Jenner said. "Based on my weight and only being 5 feet tall, the risk of severe consequences carrying all five was very high."
From left: Chelsae Jenner poses during her pregnancy; and with the twins.
From left: Chelsae Jenner poses during her pregnancy; and with the twins.
@chelsaejenner / TikTok
Jenner said she and her husband were told they had a difficult decision to make.
Their options were to either continue carrying all five babies and hope they survived, or to undergo a fetal reduction. The latter would hopefully save the lives of two babies and save Jenner's life, too.
The gravity of this lifechanging decision left Jenner utterly broken, she said.
Jenner continued: "From six weeks, we had to watch the babies weekly. We didn't know what we wanted to do, but we were encouraged to wait and see if nature would take its course and they passed naturally.
"The pregnancy also caused me to have heart issues. I needed a heart monitor to watch my heart, because, at rest, it was 120 to 130 bpm. My heart was already working way too hard, pumping so much blood for five babies. I also had kidney issues and liver issues at just six weeks."
By eight weeks, Jenner learned that the fifth baby no longer had a heartbeat, and one of the babies may have Turner Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects only females.
All Jenner ever wanted was a baby girl.
From left: The dad holds the surviving twins; and Chelsea cradles them.
From left: The dad holds the surviving twins; and Chelsea cradles them.
@chelsaejenner / TikTok
The grief started to set in, but she was still mentally prepared to carry the remaining four babies. Her body was physically struggling, but she was willing to do whatever it took.
During a 10-week consultation, the couple were given a sheet with statistics about what their life could be like if Jenner carried the four babies to term.
"The consultant took into account my BMI and my health issues, and it put me at 60 percent mortality rate due to complications or hemorrhage," Jenner said. "She showed us the disabilities the babies were at risk of, with a 90 percent chance of one or more having them.
"She asked about our financial situation and if we could afford children with disabilities. She asked about our other children; how would they do with their parents giving all their attention to four babies who may have special needs," she continued.
Jenner had spent so long believing that it was selfish to let them go, but after realizing what the family's reality could look like, she came to see that sparing their lives was a selfless act.
"No one understands until they read that paper, and their life changes in an instant. After we read that paper, my decision was clear," Jenner said.
The decision to undergo fetal reduction was made at 10 weeks. This requires inserting a needle into the sac of the chosen baby and stopping their heart.
Jenner had to wait until 12 weeks to ensure Baby A and Baby B were big enough, but she was assured that they wouldn't feel pain. She couldn't choose herself, so the doctor took that burden and showed them moving around on the ultrasound before stopping their hearts.
Jenner was then monitored weekly to ensure the remaining twins were growing, and that her body was coping. The twins were born at 33 weeks and six days, but to Jenner, they will always be her quintuplets.
From left: Chelsae Jenner poses with her twins in hospital, who are pictured together in 2025.
From left: Chelsae Jenner poses with her twins in hospital, who are pictured together in 2025.
@chelsaejenner / TikTok
Jenner's grief is palpable, but she shared her journey on social media (@chelsaejenner on TikTok) to connect with others. Back then, she felt like no one understood what she was going through, so she hopes to provide support for any other women facing this.
Many of her TikTok posts have gone viral, with one clip documenting her devastating pregnancy generating over 1.5 million views and more than 66,000 likes.
Jenner said: "I felt tired of hiding my pain. They are a massive reason I'm still here and why the twins are thriving. The more I silenced their journey, the more I silenced them, and it made them not feel real. By sharing this, I hope our story can reach someone walking this same journey and to know they are not alone.
"Every time I think of them, the exact moment we chose to save our babies will haunt me forever. But I have learned to accept those feelings and know that the decision was the best-possible outcome," Jenner added.
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