Brisbane Mother Gives Birth to Rare Identical Quadruplets in Likely Australian First
A Brisbane family has welcomed naturally conceived identical quadruplet girls in a birth doctors described as one of the rarest in the world.
Jenitar Na’amoana, 34, and her husband Jortham welcomed Emily, Harriet, Alexa and Catherine at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital on July 14. ABC reported the girls were delivered by caesarean at 28 weeks and four days and are healthy while receiving care in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.
The medical rarity centers on how the pregnancy developed. The babies came from one fertilized egg that split into four, and all four shared one placenta. Dr Alexa Bendall, a maternal fetal medicine specialist and obstetrician at RBWH, said monozygotic quadruplets are estimated at around one in 15 million pregnancies, while four babies sharing one placenta is even more unusual.
That detail matters because shared placenta pregnancies can carry serious risks. In plain English, one placenta means the babies were connected to the same life support system during pregnancy, increasing the need for close monitoring and making the successful delivery especially significant.
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The birth also changes the family’s daily reality. Na’amoana and her husband already had four children before the quadruplets arrived. People reported the family has started a fundraiser to help cover the costs of raising eight children, including baby supplies and a larger vehicle.
Public reaction has focused on amazement, the babies’ names and the scale of the family’s sudden change. A Reddit discussion in a name focused community drew hundreds of upvotes and praised the names as distinct while still fitting together.
The next step is medical and practical. The girls are expected to remain under neonatal care while they grow stronger, and the family prepares for life as a household of ten.
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