Brisbane mother gives birth to identical quadruplets in likely Australian first
A Brisbane woman has given birth to identical quadruplets, an extremely rare “one in 15 million” event; Doctors say this pregnancy may be the first in Australia.
Jenitar Sau Na’amoana, 34, was raising four young children and wasn’t planning another child with her husband, Jortham, when she became pregnant with quadruplets naturally.
Fetal medicine specialist and obstetrician at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Dr. Alexa Bendall took care of Sau Na’amoana throughout the pregnancy.
He said the woman, who is now a mother of eight, took the news well and took “everything in stride from day one”.
This included acknowledging the high-risk nature of quadruplet pregnancy.
“The risk of complications is very high in multiple pregnancies (usually twin pregnancies rather than quadruplets) where babies share the same placenta,” Bendall said.
“The growth of babies may be restricted… this can be a high risk of death and disease for the babies and the mother.
“So the fact that we have four beautiful, healthy babies at 28 weeks and 4 days is incredible and we are so happy to be a part of it.”
Monozygotic quadruplets – identical quadruplets that arise from a single fertilized egg – are one of the rarest types of pregnancies in the world.
Adding to Sau Na’amoana’s extraordinary luck was that her quadruplets shared the same placenta.
“This is unheard of,” Bendall said.
“So four sacs, one placenta; we think the figures for a spontaneous case like this are about one in 15 million. We don’t think this has ever happened in Australia.”
“There may have been a few cases elsewhere in the world, and when I say a couple I mean literally a couple; two. But this is the only case we know of in Australia.”
Sau Na’amoana has been cared for by a team of specialists at RBWH for 10 weeks and was admitted as an inpatient for close monitoring at 25 weeks.
The four girls – Emily, Harriet, Alexa and Catherine – were born via Caesarean section on July 14. Alexa is named after Bendall.
“I am incredibly honored that they decided to name one of their daughters after me,” she said.
The four babies are currently doing “extremely well” and will remain in the hospital’s specialist Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) until full term.
“We always said we could make it to 28 weeks and we’d be fine, so we’re happy she was able to achieve this pregnancy,” Bendall said.
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