Identical Triplets: Another Rare Case of Natural Conception

Yet another rare birth of identical triplets occurred in Long Beach, Calif. Just a few months ago, Tom and Hannah Hepner gave birth to three baby girls on November 22 at Sutter Memorial Hospital in No...
Identical Triplets: Another Rare Case of Natural Conception
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  • Yet another rare birth of identical triplets occurred in Long Beach, Calif.

    Just a few months ago, Tom and Hannah Hepner gave birth to three baby girls on November 22 at Sutter Memorial Hospital in Northern California.

    According to medical examinations, the fertilization of identical triplets usually only occurs by infertility treatment. Even then, multiple births are rare but because of the advances in reproductive treatments and technology, identical triplets have been occurring more often than not.

    The conception of twins occurs when a single egg divides into two and fraternal twins occur by the conception of different eggs.

    In the case of identical triplets, a single egg splits in to three separate eggs.

    In a report by the Daily Mail, the Hepners’ doctor reported that the chance “of producing identical triplets without fertility drugs range from 1-in-1-million to 1-in-100-millions.”

    Well, it seems that Mother Nature may have the last say so in this matter.

    Recently, Brad and April Dooley gave birth to three baby boys on January 13. Patrick, Liam and Owen, who arrived six weeks earlier than expected, were each born between 4-minute intervals.

    All baby boys were said to be healthy except for Liam who had to go through minor surgery for an intestinal issue.

    When the couple was informed that they were pregnant with three little ones, they were instantly shocked. April, for one, said she became very emotional when Brad noticed not one but three fetuses while viewing their first ultrasound.

    The Dooleys initially wanted to add one other child to their family, for they already have a five-year-old daughter.

    “We were trying for one more time,” April said. “I had two miscarriages. We were just trying one more time to get pregnant.”

    Some may view these pregnancies as very uncommon. However, surprisingly enough, both couples conceived naturally without influences of artificial infertility treatments.

    Maybe in the near future the medical field will witness even more natural births of identical triplets and eventually throw out the notion that these types of pregnancies are impossible.

    Until then, it would be amazing to see all six in a cute photo shoot together!

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

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