Australian woman gives birth to rare identical quadruplets

An Australian woman has given birth to rare identical quadruplets after an “extremely high-risk” pregnancy.

Born prematurely at 28 weeks and four days, the four girls, Emily, Harriet, Alexa and Catherine, were delivered by caesarean section on July 14 at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

They are monozygotic quadruplets, meaning they developed from a single fertilised egg that split into four embryos, which is extremely rare.

The babies will remain in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit until they reach full term and are “currently doing extremely well”, the hospital said.

Their mother, 34-year-old Jenitar Na’amoana, and her husband Jortham, who already have four children, were “taken by immense surprise” when they discovered they were expecting quadruplets, it added.

Dr Alexa Bendall, who cared for Mrs Na’amoana throughout her pregnancy, estimated that identical quadruplets occur in around one in every 15 million pregnancies.

Jenitar Na’amoana pregnant with the quadruplets. / Credit: Jenitar Sau Na’amoana and Karl Staisch

The maternal-fetal medicine specialist and obstetrician said the fact that the babies also shared the same placenta made the case even more unusual.

She said the pregnancy was considered extremely high risk, with Mrs Na’amoana admitted to the hospital as an inpatient at 25 weeks so doctors could closely monitor her and the babies.

“We always said that if we could get her to 28 weeks, we would be doing well,” Bendall said.

“So the fact that we’ve got four beautiful, healthy babies born at 28 weeks and four days is incredible, and we’re very happy to be a part of it,” she added.

A mammogram of the quadruplets. / Credit: Jenitar Sau Na’amoana and Karl Staisch

“Jenitar has taken everything in her stride from day one… she has somehow dodged every complication and risk for both herself and her babies.”

The couple’s other children are aged between one and ten, and Mrs Na’amoana has launched an online fundraising campaign to help the family buy a vehicle with enough seats.

In a message on the fundraiser, which has already raised more than A$37,000 (£19,261), Mrs Na’amoana wrote: “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.”

Naturally conceived quadruplets are extremely rare, with doctors estimating the chances at around one in 700,000 births.