Woman discovers she has naturally conceived quadruplets during pregnancy scan

A mum is preparing for a busy Christmas after she naturally conceived and gave birth to identical quadruplets – a one in 15 million chance.

Jenny Marr will have her hands full this Christmas – after giving birth to surprise quadruplets.

She only thought she was pregnant with one baby, and got the shock of her life when she went for a scan and doctors told her she was pregnant with four babies.

It has thrown life into a whirl for Jenny and her husband Chris, who change 24 nappies a day and spend a massive $A420 a week on grocery shopping, The Sun reports.

“Life has completely changed for Chris and I now that we suddenly have four babies to look after,” Jenny said.

“We go through 1.5 gallons of milk (6.8 litres) every couple of days, and I do try and cook homemade food, but sometimes I’m so exhausted that I just heat up something that’s frozen for Chris and I to eat.”

The foursome were a massive shock for the couple, who had been trying for a baby for a few months.

Jenny Marr was originally told she was expecting triplets – but then she found out she was carrying another baby too. Picture: Supplied

“We had been together for four years after meeting in a local pub,” the 36-year-old, who lives in Texas, said.

“We had enjoyed holidays and time relaxing together, but now we had decided that we wanted to have a baby together.

“In March 2019, we had decided that we wouldn’t use any contraception, and if I fell pregnant, we would be thrilled. It only took six months before I was staring at a positive pregnancy test, and telling Chris the good news.”

The couple were thrilled, and couldn’t wait to meet the new addition to their family. But a few weeks later she went for a scan, and received some startling news.

“I lay on the scanning table and the sonographer ran the scanner over my stomach,” Jenny recalled.

“I was 11 weeks pregnant, and the sonographer’s face looked intently at the screen. I asked her anxiously if something was wrong.

“She turned the screen away from me and told me everything was fine, but she was still looking hard at the monitor. So I knew there was something up.

“I started laughing and nervously asked her if I was having twins. But nothing could have prepared me for her answer.

“‘No, you’re having triplets,’ she told me, finally. I saw Chris had gone a ghostly shade of white, and with a thump he passed out on the floor.

All the babies shared a placenta. Picture: Supplied

“One of the nurses helped him up and gave him a glass of water. He was still in shock as he came to, sitting on a chair.

“I was still lying on the scanning table in complete shock too. I had thought I was pregnant with one baby, now I was being told there was three in there.

“‘It’s the first time in my career I’ve ever told anyone they are having naturally conceived triplets,’ the sonographer told us.”

Still in shock, the couple drove home. Because Jenny was pregnant with multiples they had to see a specialist the following week.

“They want to do another scan, too,” Jenny said.

“So once again I got on the scanning table, this time more prepared to see three heartbeats. The scanner went over my stomach, and the nurse looked at me in shock. ‘You’re actually have four babies,’ she said. ‘Not three.’

“This time Chris and I both laughed, and he didn’t faint straight onto the floor. We just found it funny. ‘We’re not coming back next week,’ we told the nurse, laughing. I was pleased that it was going to be four, as I’ve never liked odd numbers.

“‘They will be able to pair up,’ I told Chris happily. ‘There is never going to be an odd one out.’

Doctors told Chris that the babies had less than a 0.01 per cent chance of them all surviving – but kept that statistic to himself. Picture: Supplied

“But the doctor told us that our case was incredibly rare – not only was I expect quadruplets … but they were all identical. They were all sharing one placenta. The chances of it happening were a staggering 15 million to one.

“We couldn’t believe it. I’d been pregnant with one embryo, which had split very early on into my pregnancy, and then both halves had split again. The hospital told us that there were only 75 recorded cases of it ever happening in the world before.

“It was a very risky pregnancy. The doctors told Chris that the babies had less than a 0.01 per cent chance of them all surviving. He kept that awful secret to himself all the way through and never told me, as he didn’t want me to panic about it. If I’d known, I would have been distraught.

“I always knew it was very risky, and I had to be scanned every week, but I never knew just how much the odds were stacked against them. Every scan I dreaded hearing the doctor’s voice telling me that one or more of the babies hadn’t survived.

“But at each scan, there were four little heartbeats pumping strongly away. They were really hanging on by a miracle.”

Then in March last year, when Jenny was 28 weeks pregnant, she went for her weekly scan and was told everything was fine. Just two days later, she woke up at 1am with contractions.

“I rang the hospital and was told to come in straight away,” she said.

“Chris and my mum drove me to the hospital and doctors tried to stop my labour, but it was too late. The babies were on their way.”

Jenny's husband Chris passed out when they were told they were expecting more than one baby. Picture: Supplied

The foursome were delivered by caesarean, Harrison weighing 1kg, Hardy at 1.1kg, Henry at 1kg, and finally Hudson at 520g.

Amazingly his three brothers all needed oxygen support afterwards, but Hudson didn’t, despite being the tiniest one.

They all had to be tube fed because of their size, and they stayed in hospital until the end of May.

“Lockdown had started, but luckily we were given special visiting rights, and both Chris and I could see the babies every day,” Jenny said.

“Hardy came home first, and he was only 5lbs (2.2kg). Chris and I were so nervous that first night, and barely slept a wink. Then the other three came home shortly afterwards, and since then, our house has been crazy.

“It’s been one whirlwind of nappy changing, feeding and sleeping. But we have got them into a routine where they all nap at the same time, which is great. People ask how we tell them apart, and when they were just weeks old, I would line them up in the order of who was born first, so I knew which one was which.

Jenny's identical quadruplets are one in 15 million. Picture: Supplied

“But now, even though they look identical, to me, they have four individual faces. And their personalities tell them apart. Harrison is the big brother and likes all the attention, Hardy is so funny and relaxed, he just goes with the flow.

“Henry has an infectious smile and loves going outside, and Hudson is the little mother hen, and is always checking everyone is OK.

“Every day I look at my 15 million to one quads, and marvel that they are here with us today. They were 15 million to one miracles, and we feel like the luckiest mum and dad in the world.

“It’s going to be a great Christmas this year – so different to when it was just Chris and I. We are going to spend it together just as a family watching Christmas movies together – and the babies are going to be so excited when they see the lights and decorations.

“Life is so hectic for us now, we will need to spend Christmas definitely relaxing.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission