‘Four precious miracles’: Identical quadruplets born in Australia in a one in 15 million chance | World News

An Australian woman has given birth to identical quadruplets conceived naturally from a single embryo – in a one in 15 million chance occurrence.

The four baby girls were delivered by caesarean section at 28 weeks and four days due to the “enormously high-risk” associated with birthing quadruplets.

The quadruplets, who have been named Emily, Harriet, Alexa and Catherine, are even more remarkable because they shared the same placenta, in an occurrence described by their doctor as “unheard of”.

The babies’ mother Jenitar Sau Na’amoana, 34, and father Jortham had not been planning another child when they conceived naturally.

The news they were going to have quadruplets took them by “immense surprise”, their doctors said.

The Queensland couple already have four children aged between 10 and one-years-old.

Ms Na’amoana has been cared for by an enormous team of experts at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) since week 10 of her pregnancy and was admitted to hospital at 25 weeks.

RBWH maternal foetal medicine specialist and obstetrician, Dr Alexa Bendall, who is part of the team caring for Ms Na’amoana, said monozygotic quadruplets – meaning they split from a single fertilised egg – were unprecedented.

“Jenitar has taken everything in her stride from day one – we have never seen a spontaneously conceived pregnancy of this type with quads, and she has somehow dodged every complication and risk for both herself and her babies to be here today, with four gorgeous new born girls,” she said.

“Monozygotic quadruplets are estimated at one in every 15 million pregnancies, but to share the same placenta, this is unheard of.”

Dr Bendall said the team hoped to reach 28 weeks gestation before delivering the quadruplets, acknowledging the risks associated with multiple births.

“We always said that if we could get her to 28 weeks, we would be doing well, so we are happy she could make it to this gestation,” she said.

“The rare quadruplets will now spend time in our specialist RBWH Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where they will grow to full term and are currently doing extremely well.”

She added that long-term their “outlook will be really good”.

One of the girls – who were all delivered on 14 July – was named after Dr Bendall, which she described as “such a beautiful tribute”.

Ms Na’amoana has created a fundraising page on platform GoFundMe celebrating the arrival of her “four precious miracles” and appealing for donations.

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“Our four precious miracles have arrived safely, and while our hearts are overflowing with gratitude, the reality of caring for four newborns at once has brought challenges we never could have imagined,” she said.

“We urgently need a larger van with at least 10 or 12 seats, essential baby equipment, and help with ongoing medical, travel, and everyday living expenses.”

The fundraiser had generated £36,616 (AU$70,000) as of Tuesday.

The parents will be dividing their time between their already large family and the neonatal intensive care unit until the babies are strong enough to come home.

Though naturally-conceived quadruplets are extremely rare, a couple in Lothian, Scotland, had four identical boys in May 2024.