News outlets were abuzz over the birth of triplets, three boys, on February 18 at the Vanadzor Maternity Ward.

Not only was it the first time in 23 years that triplets had been born in Vanadzor, Armenia’s third largest city, but the fact that it was a natural, not induced, pregnancy.

Aram Avalyan, who heads the pediatrician division at Vanadzor Medical Center, noted that while triplets are frequently born when the pregnancy is artificially enhanced with hormones, triplets rarely result from natural pregnancies.

“I have 23 years of experience in the field. Triplets, three girls, were last born in Vanadzor in 1993,” said Avalyan.

The parents of the three boys were also shocked.

“It was unexpected for us. I thought that it might be a boy, but when they told us boys, well, I was taken aback,” said Rima Mirzoyan, the young mother.

Given her medical situation, doctors performed a cesarean delivery. The boys weighed in at 1,900, 1,700 and 1,800 grams.

Lilit Gharakeshishyan, the head neonatologist in Lori Province, says that the triplets need intensive care. Two of the boys are receiving oxygen.

If all goes well, the triplets and their mom will be released in a few days. The boys’ father, Samvel Zagaryan, is concerned that the boys will not have a home to go to.

Zagaryan says he can no longer afford to pay the rent on their apartment nor the utility bills.

The father, the family’s sole breadwinner, works on a Vanadzor sanitation truck. Zagaryan, who grew up without a father, doesn’t want his sons to face the same problems he did as a child.

Zagaryan makes an average of 45,000 AMD ($91) per month.

“This moth he received 40,000 drams. I don’t know how to spend it. Should I pay the rent, the utilities, or feed my babies? The rent alone is 25,000 drams,” asks Rima.

The family’s financial burden is somewhat lightened by the 29,000-dram monthly family assistance payment it gets.

Rima and Samvel are already raising two girls at home. They’re also raising Armen, Samvel’s son from his first marriage.

Samvel’s first wife died soon after Armen was born. Even though Samvel’s mother was appointed the boy’s caregiver, Samvel and Rima are raising him.

Samvel’s mother and her daughter live in one of Vanadzor’s dormitories. Despite the poor conditions in the dorm, Samvel would really like to get a room there as well.

Officials at the Vanadzor Municipality have promised to allocate rooms at the dormitory to large families.

The family’s debts are so large that Samvel cannot even afford to pay the 1,000-dram fee for each birth certificate.

“I was told that they are free of charge but it turns out I have to pay. I don’t know what to do,” says Samvel.

While the couple have been able to purchase a few necessities for the triplets, they really need a crib.

For now, the babies, named Arman, Aram and Artyom, will have to sleep alongside their parents in the big bed.