Australian mother gives birth to identical quadruplets sharing single placenta, a 1-in-15-million event
Jenitar Na'amoana, 34, delivered four girls via C-section at 28 weeks at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. All four shared the same placenta, a phenomenon doctors called unprecedented.
The birth
On 14 July, Jenitar Na'amoana, 34, gave birth to four identical girls by caesarean section at 28 weeks and four days of gestation at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in Brisbane. The delivery required a large medical team: around 20 professionals were present, including the obstetrician and her assistant, anaesthetists, midwives, a surgical nurse, and four separate neonatal teams, one assigned to each baby. The newborns were named Emily, Harriet, Catherine, and Alexa, the last in honour of Dr Alexa Bendall, the maternal-fetal medicine specialist who oversaw the pregnancy. At birth, Emily weighed 1,025 grams, Harriet 1,121 grams, Alexa 1,120 grams, and Catherine was the heaviest at 1,151 grams.
- Emily
- 1025 grams
- Harriet
- 1121 grams
- Alexa
- 1120 grams
- Catherine
- 1151 grams
All four infants were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Hospital sources told the ABC that they are recovering "extremely well". The babies are expected to remain in hospital until they reach nine months of age.
A one-in-15-million pregnancy
The quadruplets are monozygotic, meaning they developed from a single fertilised egg that split into four distinct embryos during early development. Dr Bendall, who has accompanied Jenitar since the beginning of the pregnancy, estimated the probability of such an event at roughly one in every 15 million pregnancies. She added that all four shared the same placenta, a circumstance she described as unprecedented.
Whenever there is a pregnancy, especially a multiple pregnancy, which usually involves twins and not quadruplets, where the babies share the placenta, there is a very high risk of complications.
Sharing the same placenta is unprecedented. It's one of the rarest deliveries in the world.
The fact that we have four beautiful, healthy babies born at 28 weeks and four days is incredible.
Despite the high-risk classification, the mother and all four babies avoided complications. Dr Bendall said Jenitar "has handled everything with naturalness from day one".
The family's reaction
Jenitar and her husband Jortham already have four children, aged between one and ten years, bringing the total number of children in the family to eight. The couple told the ABC they were not planning another child and were "extremely surprised" when they learned they were expecting quadruplets. The pregnancy was conceived naturally, according to the ABC.
Fundraising for a larger vehicle
With a household that has suddenly grown to ten people, the mother recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to help purchase a van with at least ten seats. The campaign has so far collected €32,400.
