Mother’s Day 2021: Triple whammy birth for new mum

They’re the type of triplets that happen once in 10,000 cases, and they’ve provided an instant family for this Queensland woman.

Last Mother’s Day Breanna West was not a mum.

Today the 25-year-old Queenslander is celebrating having three precious daughters the instant family she could only have dreamt of.

Multiple births have dropped in Queensland in recent years, but Ms West was just six weeks pregnant when she discovered she was expecting triplets.

The Caboolture woman was blown away when she saw three little sacs on her first scan.

Isabella, Charlotte and Maisie were individually cocooned in the their mum’s uterus, each one with their own umbilical cords and placentas.

Fraternal triplets are created when three of the mother’s eggs are individually fertilised.

“It was a massive shock as the babies were naturally conceived and we have no real history of multiples but at least the revelation gave us plenty of time to get our heads around having an big family at just 25,” Ms West said.

The naturally occurring triplets happen in one in every 10,000 cases.

The babies were born on March 31 at 30 weeks and four days and are in the special care nursery in Caboolture Hospital.

Breanna West with her five-week-old triplets Isabella, Charlotte and Maisie at Caboolture Hospital. Picture: Tara Croser

“They won’t be home for Mother’s Day but I will be with the girls for sure. I am at the nursery every day and thankfully they are putting on weight and doing really well,” she said.

Paediatric director at Caboolture Hospital Dr John Waugh said the babies will be able to go home once they are able to suck feed.

“Premature triplets need a little bit more time in special care but the girls are coming on really well,” he said.

“We don’t see many triplets at Caboolture Hospital, maybe one set every one to two years and those that are not IVF babies are less common.”

The latest data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows a drop in multiple births in Queensland with 986 births in 2010 and 842 in 2018.

Triplet births make up only 1.5 per cent of multiple births each year.

Breanna and partner Daniel hope that their family will all be together at home by the babies’ actual due date on June 7.

“I bought a four-bedroom home as an investment property two years ago but now life has taken a turn and it now looks like Daniel and myself and the girls will be there for quite some time,” she said.

“It’s going to be expensive raising three, but on this Mother’s Day I couldn’t have a better gift.

“I am excited for the future.”