Australian mum welcomes one-in-15-million identical quadruplet girls
Jenitar Na’amoana gave birth to four naturally conceived identical daughters after she and her husband thought their family was complete.
By Sal Moretti · Money Reporter
2 min read
An Australian mother who already had four children has given birth to four more at once: naturally conceived identical quadruplet daughters, a pregnancy CBS News reported is estimated at one in 15 million.
Jenitar Na’amoana, 34, and her husband, Jortham, had believed their family was finished before the surprise pregnancy, according to CBS News. Last week, Na’amoana delivered Emily, Harriet, Catherine and Alexa.
Dr. Alexa Bendall of the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital told CBS News the girls were born at 28 weeks and four days and were healthy.
“The fact that we’ve got four beautiful, healthy babies born at 28 weeks and four days is incredible,” Bendall said.
A single egg, four babies
According to CBS News, the four sisters are identical because one fertilized egg split into four embryos. The report said the babies share 100% of their DNA.
The odds put the Na’amoana girls in an extremely rare club. CBS News reported the pregnancy as a one-in-15-million occurrence.
The birth comes five years after another family made headlines with naturally conceived identical quadruplets. In 2020, the Marr family of Dallas welcomed Harrison, Henry, Hardy and Hudson, according to CBS News.
Jenny Marr, their mother, told CBS News that even with the long odds, the result felt like winning “four jackpots in the same genetic lottery.”
“You’re just overwhelmed and just exhausted and sleep-deprived, and you’ve got four babies that are hopefully all on a sleep schedule that you can manage, but it is four times the joy,” Marr said.
Advice from one quad mum to another
Marr had a practical message for Jenitar and Jortham Na’amoana as they begin life with four newborns on top of their older children: guard the sleep routine.
“Because that’s how you’re going to survive,” Marr told CBS News. “Make sure mom takes care of herself. I hope they’re just healthy little girls and meet all their milestones, and it’s so, so exciting.”
For the Na’amoana family, the arrival of Emily, Harriet, Catherine and Alexa turns a household of six into a household of 10. For doctors, it is a rare medical event. For another parent who has lived through the same kind of whirlwind, it is also a reminder that the chaos comes bundled with four times the joy.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.