A British woman gave birth to identical triplets in Austria. The triplets were conceived naturally and the chances of identical triplets forming are about one in two hundred million! What is especially rare in this situation is that all three are identical. In the world of natural conception, triplets generally form when just one egg out of two fertilized eggs, splits into two forming one set of identical twins and then a third fraternal sibling. Not that triplets naturally conceived in and of themselves are common at all.
Although the babies were born at 32 weeks, they each weighed a whopping 3.3 pounds. They will remain in the intensive care unit for about 8 more weeks to ensure that no further complications develop. One doctor points out that it is simply amazing that the babies were healthy and were born without complications.
The Biology of Identical Twins
I’ve written before about zygosity in twins but identical multiples are always a fluke of nature. One common misconception about multiple births is that they are all influenced by fertility treatments, maternal age, or other factors.
Fraternal twins are more likely to occur if the mother has already had twins, if the mother is a fraternal twin herself, if the mother is older, or if it runs in the family. The tendency is not, by the way, to have twins themselves. The tendency inherited is to double ovulate. This is why fraternal twins run in the family.
However, identical twins are a fluke of nature. While some people swear that they run in families, the reality is, they do not. There is no rhyme or reason as to why and egg might split after it has been fertilized. This includes situations where the mom used fertility drugs to conceive. Even then, identical twins are a complete surprise. Conversely, the vast majority of multiples conceived using fertility drugs, are fraternal.
In any case, I’m sure this new mom will have her hands quite full! All babies are miracles in my eyes but surely this once in a lifetime occurrence is one for the record books.