Rare identical quadruplets born in Australia

In Australia, identical quadruplets, formed naturally and sharing the same placenta, were born healthy after a high-risk pregnancy. It is now possible to follow the agenda on BBC Turkish on WhatsApp. Click to get our news directly to your phone.

A woman in Australia gave birth to naturally occurring and extremely rare identical quadruplets. The Royal Hospital for Women, Brisbane, described the pregnancy as "extremely high risk". The four baby girls were born via cesarean section on July 14, at the 28th week and fourth day of pregnancy.

The babies were stated to be monozygotic quadruplets, formed when a single fertilized egg divides into four embryos. According to the statement made by the hospital, the girls' 34-year-old mother Jenitar Na'amoana and her husband Jortham already have four children. The couple was "hugely surprised" when they learned they were expecting quadruplets.

Dr. takes care of the mother from the beginning of pregnancy. Alexa Bendall said they estimate that identical quadruplets occur in "one in every 15 million pregnancies". "But sharing the same placenta is unheard of," Bendall said.

Maternal-fetal medicine specialist and gynecologist Bendall stated that this type of pregnancy carries a very high risk. Na'amoana was hospitalized in the 25th week of her pregnancy so that she could be monitored closely. “We always said if we could get him to week 28 we would have a good result,” Bendall said.

"So the birth of four beautiful, healthy babies at 28 weeks and four days is incredible. We are so happy to be a part of it." “Jenitar handled everything with great grit from day one,” Bendall said. "Somehow she survived all the complications and risks for both herself and her babies," he said.

The newborn girls were named Emily, Harriet and Catherine. The fourth baby was named after Dr. Alexa Bendall, who took care of Na'amoana from the beginning of the pregnancy. Bendall called it "a beautiful honour." The babies will stay in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit until they reach their normal delivery time.

Bendall said the babies are now "doing extremely well." The couple's other children range in age from one to 10. The mother recently started an online donation campaign to purchase a minibus with at least 10 seats. Na'amoana used the following statements in the campaign, which has collected more than 37 thousand Australian dollars, that is, more than 1 million 200 thousand TL, so far: "Our four precious miracles were born safely. While our hearts are overflowing with gratitude, the challenges of caring for four newborn babies at the same time are beyond our imagination." Naturally occurring quadruplets are extremely rare.

Doctors estimate that this occurs in approximately one in every 700 thousand births. We used artificial intelligence in the translation of this article, which was originally written in English. A BBC journalist checked the translation before publication. More information about how we use artificial intelligence is here.