An Australian mother has delivered a set of naturally conceived identical quadruplets in a rare medical occurrence that doctors estimate happens in roughly one out of every 15 million pregnancies.
Jenitar Na’amoana, 34, gave birth to four baby girls via cesarean section at 28 weeks and four days on July 14 at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. The infants—conceived from a single fertilized egg that split into four distinct embryos—are monozygotic quadruplets who remarkably shared a single placenta during gestation.
The news came as a complete shock to Na’amoana and her husband, Jortham, who were already raising four children ranging in age from one to ten. Due to the severe physiological risks involved in carrying four embryos sharing one placenta, medical staff admitted the mother as an inpatient at 25 weeks for close monitoring.
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Maternal-fetal medicine specialist Dr. Alexa Bendall, who managed the pregnancy from its earliest stages, noted that reaching the 28-week milestone without major complications was an extraordinary result for such a complex case. In a gesture of gratitude, the parents named one of the newborn girls Alexa, alongside her sisters Emily, Harriet, and Catherine.
All four infants are currently being cared for in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, where medical staff report they are progressing well and will remain until reaching full term.
To help accommodate their expanded family of ten, the parents have launched a crowdfunding campaign to purchase a larger vehicle capable of seating their family. The fundraiser has already generated tens of thousands of dollars in public support as the family prepares to bring their four newborns home.
