A woman from Australia gave birth to quadruplets who turned out to be identical. This naturally occurring case was described by doctors as one of the rarest in the world.
The children shared a placenta and developed from a single fertilized egg. Jenitar Na'amoa gave birth to four daughters—Emily, Harriet, Alex, and Katherine—via C-section at 28 weeks and four days gestation last week at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, according to ABC.
Jenitar and her husband, Jortam, were already raising four children aged between 1 and 10 years and stated that they did not plan on having more children. They were surprised by the news of the new pregnancy.
The babies are in intensive care, and according to the hospital, they are 'recovering exceptionally well.' About 20 people were present in the ward during the birth, including an obstetrician and assistant, anesthesiologists, midwives, a surgical nurse, and four neonatal teams to care for each child. At birth, Emily weighed 1025 grams, Harriet weighed 1121 grams, Alex weighed 1120 grams, and Katherine was the heaviest, weighing 1151 grams.
Alex Bendal, a specialist in maternal and fetal medicine and an obstetrician, monitored Jenitar since the beginning of the pregnancy. She explained that it was a pregnancy with 'very, very high risk' and extremely rare. She noted that with a shared placenta, there is a high risk of complications in any pregnancy, especially a multiple one, which usually involves twins, not quadruplets. Alex Bendal emphasized: 'The fact that we have four beautiful and healthy babies born at 28 weeks and four days is incredible.'
Despite the risks, the doctor reported that Jenitar 'approached everything with great calm from day one.' Monozygotic quadruplets occur when a single fertilized egg splits into four separate embryos in the early stages of development. Estimates suggest this happens approximately 'once in 15 million pregnancies.' A shared placenta is an unprecedented phenomenon, and the doctor called this event 'one of the rarest births in the world.'
The parents created a fundraiser on the GoFundMe platform. In their appeal, they wrote: 'Our precious miracles have arrived safely, and while our hearts are overflowing with gratitude, the reality of caring for four newborns simultaneously has brought challenges we never imagined.' The funds are being raised to purchase a larger vehicle capable of holding 'at least 10 or 12 seats,' as well as to cover medical expenses and provide necessary items for the babies.
Elizabeth Ceders, the mother of sixteen children discovered in 'horrific conditions' in a residence in Ohio, USA, gave birth to Siamese twins in November 2022. These infants died of natural causes on their birthday.
According to the local newspaper WOWK 13, which had access to records, the twins were born and died on November 20, 2022. Ceders, who was 33 at the time, gave birth to them at 24 weeks of pregnancy. The children were conjoined with a thorcopagus phenotype, characterized by a ventral connection at the chest and/or abdomen level.
It is important to note that the children aged one to eighteen who were found imprisoned lived among human excrement. According to authorities, some of them could not speak, and one 18-year-old girl with intellectual disabilities could not even dictate her name.
'This is an absolutely disgusting sight,' emphasized Wilton County Sheriff Ryan Kane. Parents and grandparents were detained by US authorities and charged with 16 crimes for endangering children.
The children were discovered accidentally when authorities executed a search warrant as part of an investigation unrelated to this case, explained Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson. Sheriff Ryan Kane reported that the sixteen children—boys and girls—were in one room measuring approximately 3.6 by 3.6 meters. They did not attend school, and it is known that the family has moved several times over the last two decades. Furthermore, there were no medical or government records for the family.
Neighbors also expressed shock at the incident, calling the situation 'very sad.' Last Wednesday, when they were heard in court, all four suspects pleaded not guilty.
