Oh baby, baby, baby, baby!

[indra]

All I can say is wow! I can just imagine the practical jokes these girls are going to be able to pull.

HELENA, Mont. - A 35-year-old Canadian woman has given birth to rare identical quadruplets, officials at a Great Falls hospital said Thursday. Karen Jepp of Calgary, Alberta, delivered Autumn, Brooke, Calissa and Dahlia by Caesarian section Sunday afternoon at Benefis Healthcare, said Amy Astin, the hospital's director of community and government relations.

The four girls were breathing without ventilators and listed in good condition Thursday, she said.

"These babies are doing grand," said Dr. Tom Key of Great Falls, the perinatologist who delivered the girls.

The babies were born about two months early and were conceived without fertility drugs, he said. They weighed between 2.6 pounds and 2.15 pounds.

Jepp and her husband, J.P., declined to be interviewed by The Associated Press.

"The parents have been a little bit shy about the press. ... We agreed to handle it in a way they were comfortable with," Astin said.

The couple have a 2-year-old son, Simon. J.P. Jepp works for Shell Oil Co., and both worked for nonprofit groups until recently, Astin said.

The chances of giving birth to identical quadruplets is about one in 13 million, Key said.

"This is a very big medical event," he said. "Identical quadruplets are extremely rare."

Medical literature indicates there are less than 50 sets of identical quadruplets, said Dr. Jamie Grifo, director of the NYU Fertility Center in New York.

The last reported set were born in April 2006 to a 26-year-old Indian woman.

The Jepps drove 325 miles to Great Falls for the births because hospitals in Calgary were at capacity, Key said.

"The difficulty is that Calgary continues to grow at such a rapid rate. ... The population has increased a lot faster than the number of hospital beds," he said.

Two of the girls were to be transferred to a Calgary hospital later Thursday. The other two could be moved Friday if their conditions remain favorable, Key said.

They will likely remain hospitalized for four to six weeks, he said.

"These quads are special," Astin said. "The fact that she carried them 31 weeks and three days is excellent."

 

[dazzlingamy]

awesome!

I still have a total "cooool" factor over twins. i just think it would be great to have someone just like you!

 

[LJT]

Just wait til there 18 and hot...Monday girl, Tuesday girl, Wednesday girl, Thursday girl...damn no Friday girl...she would have been my favourite

It is a cool story though! That said when she first got pregnant, i'm sure she was expecting just the one child...I would have loved to see the look of shock when the parents were informed they were having quadruplets....There may have well been an 'oh shit' moment

 

[U2democrat]

All I can think about is carrying and then birthing quadruplets...


Craziness.

 

[JessicaAnn]

What's truly amazing is that this was completely natural ... no fertility drugs. Most births of three or more children these days seem to be the result of fertility treatments.

 

[LMP]

Do they hold hands on the way out like a barrel of monkeys?

Now that would be amazing.

 

[Caroni]

Thank God this doesn´t happen too often

 

[BonoFox1]

WOW..Dad better get the shotguns ready for when they are in their teens

 

[kafrun]

It wasn't me

 

[LyricalDrug]

Somewhat appropriate U2 lyrics:

* uno! dos! tres! catorce!

* baby, baby, baby, (baby) light my wayyyyy....

 

[blm]

Got me thinking -Bono quadruplets-

Still not enough to go around, though

(that would be really weird!!)

 

[JCOSTER]

My one son weighed almost as much as the quads!

 

[Justin24]

Somewhat appropriate U2 lyrics:

* uno! dos! tres! catorce!

* baby, baby, baby, (baby) light my wayyyyy....

Catorce means 14. You mean cuatro

 

[JanuaryStar]

Such a thing is really rare, and I'm glad I don't have to bear them It's good to hear that those four youngsters are doing okay though