1 in 15 million: Woman welcomes rare quadruplets sharing single placenta

An Australian woman has delivered a set of naturally conceived identical quadruplets after completing an extraordinarily rare and high-risk pregnancy.

34-year-old Jenitar Na'amoana delivered the four girls by caesarean section at 28 weeks and four days on July 14 at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, according to the BBC.

Medical specialists confirmed the babies are monozygotic quadruplets, meaning they developed from a single fertilised egg that split into four.

All four babies shared one placenta throughout the pregnancy, an occurrence doctors described as exceptionally rare.

Dr Alexa Bendall, the maternal fetal medicine specialist who led the medical team, estimated that identical quadruplets occur in only one in 15 million pregnancies.

"To share the same placenta, this is unheard of," Dr Bendall said.

Na'amoana was admitted to hospital at 25 weeks for round-the-clock monitoring.

While naturally conceived quadruplets occur in about one in 700,000 births, sharing a single placenta significantly increases risks.

Despite this, Na'amoana avoided major complications.

"We always said that if we could get her to 28 weeks, we would be doing well," Dr Bendall said. "So the fact that we've got four beautiful, healthy babies born at 28 weeks and four days is incredible."

Na'amoana and her partner, who already have four children aged between one and 10, were stunned by the news.

The girls have been named Emily, Harriet, Catherine and Alexa, with the fourth baby named in honour of Dr Bendall.

The newborns remain in the neonatal intensive care unit doing well and will stay under specialist care until full term.

Facing life with eight children under 10, Na'amoana launched an online fundraiser for a 10-seater vehicle, raising over A$37,000 (about Sh3,330,065).

"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," she wrote to supporters.

The birth mirrors a rare Kenyan case in January 2025, when 31-year-old Susan Chepkemei gave birth to quadruplets in Nakuru.

Like the Australian couple, Chepkemei also appealed for public assistance to manage the financial strain of raising six children.