Rare identical quadruplets born in Australia

What the report says

Nile Post, citing BBC reporting, says an Australian mother has delivered rare naturally conceived identical quadruplets at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. The four girls were born by caesarean section on July 14 at 28 weeks and four days. The hospital identified them as monozygotic quadruplets, meaning they developed after one fertilised egg divided into four embryos.

The mother, 34-year-old Jenitar Na’amoana, and her husband, Jortham, already have four children, and the hospital said the news of a quadruplet pregnancy came as a major surprise. Dr Alexa Bendall, a maternal foetal medicine specialist and obstetrician who cared for Na’amoana during the pregnancy, described the case as extremely high risk. She estimated identical quadruplets occur in about one in 15 million pregnancies and said the shared placenta made the case especially unusual.

According to the report, Na’amoana was admitted as an inpatient at 25 weeks for close monitoring. Bendall said the medical team had hoped to reach 28 weeks, and the babies’ arrival shortly after that point was considered a strong outcome. The girls have been named Emily, Harriet, Catherine and Alexa, the last in tribute to Bendall.

The babies are expected to remain in the neonatal intensive care unit until they reach full term, with Bendall saying they are doing extremely well. The report also notes that the family has begun an online fundraiser to buy a vehicle with at least 10 seats, with more than A$37,000 reported in donations. More broadly, doctors cited in the article said naturally conceived quadruplets are themselves very uncommon, estimated at roughly one in 700,000 births.