Conceive multiples naturally is something that (at least as far as science indicates) is not possible to plan, so when a woman becomes pregnant and discovers that she is expecting more than one baby, it often takes her by surprise.
This is the case of a woman from Massachusetts, United States, who a few months ago discovered that she would be the mother of quadruplets: two boys and two girls, two pairs of identical twins conceived naturally , a possibility that -according to some data- is one in 70 million.
Two pairs of identical twins
Ashley Ness and her partner were pleasantly surprised when they found out they were expecting a baby shortly before Valentine’s Day, especially after they had trouble conceiving their eight-year-old daughter Chanel. However, the second surprise that awaited them would be even greater .
A couple of weeks after the appointment where she found out she was pregnant, Ashley went in for her first ultrasound, where it was revealed that she wasn’t actually expecting one baby, but four: two sets of identical twins.
Identical or monozygotic twins come from a single fertilized egg that divides into two and carry the same genetic information, that is why they are always of the same sex, and although they are not completely, their physical similarities are usually very great.
an unexpected surprise
According to Newsweek, Ashley comments that the person who performed the ultrasound was as surprised as she was, because in her 15 years of working she had never seen a quadruplet pregnancy, and that her boyfriend initially thought it was a joke.
The couple, who are excited about the upcoming arrival of their four babies, already had four children whose ages ranged from 24 to eight years old, so they will now be the parents of eight:
” We need to get a bigger car, expand the house… there are too many things, I need to do a lot of things ,” says Ashley excited and nervous in an interview with the WCVB news from Boston.
Ashley is currently 22 weeks pregnant, but because she is expecting quadruplets , doctors have told her that they plan to deliver the babies by cesarean section , between 30 and 32 weeks of pregnancy, and that the babies will spend time in the Intensive Care Unit. Neonatal (NICU).
The couple commented that they have already chosen the names that their four babies will bear, but for the moment they have chosen to keep them secret.
With help from Ashley’s family, the family is receiving donations through a GoFundMe account to help cover the costs of this unexpected surprise.
Cover photo | Christin Noelle on Unsplash
