An Australian woman, Jenitar Na'amoana, 34, has given birth to rare naturally-conceived identical quadruplets after a pregnancy described as "extremely high risk" by the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.

The four girls, delivered via caesarean section at 28 weeks and four days on July 14, are monozygotic quadruplets — where a single fertilized egg splits into four embryos.

The hospital said the mother and her husband Jortham already have four children and were "immensely surprised" when told to expect quadruplets.

Dr. Alexa Bendall, who cared for the mother from the start of her pregnancy, estimated identical quadruplets occur "at one in every 15 million pregnancies" and said "but to share the same placenta — this is unheard of."

Bendall, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and obstetrician, said such a pregnancy was very high-risk, with Na'amoana admitted as an inpatient at 25 weeks for monitoring.

"We always said that if we could get her to 28 weeks, we would be doing well. So the fact that we've got four beautiful, healthy babies born at 28 weeks and four days is incredible," Bendall said.

Jenitar Na'amoana said her and her husband's hearts were "overflowing with gratitude" after the births. Bendall noted: "Jenitar has taken everything in her stride from day one... she has somehow dodged every complication and risk for both herself and her babies."

The newborns have been named Emily, Harriet, Catherine, and Alexa — after Dr. Alexa Bendall, who described it as "a beautiful tribute."

The babies will stay in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit until they reach full term and are "currently doing extremely well," Bendall added.

The couple's other children are between one and 10 years old. The mother has launched an online fundraising campaign to help buy a van with at least 10 seats, which has already raised over A$37,000.

Naturally conceived quadruplets are extremely rare, with doctors estimating the odds at about one in 700,000 births.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk