Australian mother gives birth to identical quadruplet girls after extremely rare natural conception

A 34-year-old Australian woman, Jenitar Sau Na'amoana, gave birth to identical quadruplet girls on July 14 after a pregnancy that doctors say is exceptionally rare. The children developed from a single fertilized egg that split into four, a phenomenon estimated at roughly one in 15 million for a spontaneous conception that shares a single placenta. > "We think the figures are probably around 1 in 15 million for a case like this to be spontaneously conceived ... to share the same placenta—this is unheard of," said Dr. Bendall, referencing BBC reports. Experts note that natural conception of any quadruplets occurs about once in 700,000 pregnancies, with most such births involving assisted reproductive technology. Hospital officials said Na'amoana and her husband had not planned for additional children and were surprised by the pregnancy. Because the fetuses shared one placenta, Na'amoana faced a high risk of complications and was monitored by a large medical team from the tenth week of gestation. She was admitted as an inpatient at 25 weeks for continuous observation and delivered the babies via cesarean section.