According to doctors, the chances of having identical quadruplets are roughly one in 15 million, making Mercedes and Jonathan Sandhu very rare. On May 1, a couple in Texas welcomed four identical daughters. Mercedes, 34, and Jonathan, 37, are both engineers and parents of two boys.
At 29 weeks gestation, Hannah Grace, Lucy Marie, Rebecca Claire, and Petra Anne were delivered by cesarean section. Petra was the tiniest, weighing in at 2 pounds, 7 ounces, while Hannah was the largest at 2 pounds, 13 ounces.
Four sisters joined brothers Luke, three, and Aaron, eighteen months. Mercedes’ third pregnancy came as a surprise. “So we weren’t trying by any means, but we were excited. We loved the idea of giving our boys another sibling. “But when we found out there were four … Holy moly!” Mercedes told TODAY.com. “Holy moly!” her husband, added.
In medical history, just about 72 examples of spontaneous identical quadruplets have been reported
In medical history, just about 72 examples of spontaneous identical quadruplets have been reported. The term “spontaneous” refers to the conception of the kids without the use of reproductive aid. The Sandhu sisters are identical, according to DNA tests, but Jonathan says the family is awaiting a final placenta analysis to be certain.
Mercedes says that “four little blobs” showed up on the ultrasound screen while she was just seven weeks into her pregnancy.
Since it was my third pregnancy, I told Jonathan that he didn’t have to come to my appointment. I was like, ‘There will be plenty of scans.’ So I’m there without him, and I’m laughing and then I’m crying. I’m a little bit hysterical. And my doctor goes, ‘Let’s call your husband!’” she added.
“The pregnancy was high-risk for Mercedes, too, and I was crying in the delivery room because it was like, ‘Everyone is safe. We made it,’” Jonathan said.
The babies are at Texas Children’s Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). They all are on CPAP machines to breathe and are eating through feeding tubes. The children will be home by July, according to the doctors.