Mom Gave Birth to Identical Triplets – The Chances of it Happening was as High as 1 in 200 Million
In 2016, already a mom of one, Becki-Jo Allen in the UK got the shock of her lifetime. Not only did she find out that she was pregnant for the second time, but she was also expecting not one, not two, but three babies. And the surprises didn’t stop there. These weren’t just any triplets; they were identical triplets. The odds of such an occurrence are jaw-dropping – one in 200 million!
A Roller Coaster Pregnancy
At just 23 years old, Becki-Jo discovered she was having triplets. This came as a massive surprise, especially since there were no triplets in the family. Already a mom to her little girl Indiana, she had the enormous task of preparing for three new additions to the family, catapulting from being a mom-of-one to a mom-of-four.
Becki-Jo’s little boys decided to make an early appearance at just 31 weeks. Roman, Rocco, and Rohan Tierney each came into the world weighing just a bit over three pounds. Tiny and fragile, they faced numerous health challenges and spent the initial six weeks of their lives in the intensive care unit at Liverpool Women’s Hospital. Today, they are healthy, thriving, and energetic little boys.
The Triplets Testing Saga
Despite the boys looking exactly alike, Becki-Jo wasn’t initially sure if they were identical. It wasn’t until she kept getting stopped by people on the street inquiring if her boys were identical that she decided to find out. A little swab from each boy and soon enough, the results were in. They were indeed identical, defying odds of 1 in 60 – 200 million!
“I don’t get them mixed up – it’s only when they’re asleep that they look the same to me,” Becki-Jo shared. “They all have completely different personalities.”
Another Set of Identical Triplets
While the Tierney boys are a rare miracle, they are not alone. Fast forward to 2020, Katie Craw from the UK also gave birth to identical triplet boys, Tommy, Joshua, and Eddie. With a four-year-old boy already in the house, the news was overwhelming, to say the least.
Katie joked, “When I found out I was pregnant with three I thought, ‘We can’t afford a big car or a bigger house.’ It was a lot to take in. And now they’re here, I just feel like I’m in a bubble of happiness. They’re absolutely smashing.”
Identical triplets have also been reported in Italy, where a woman gave birth to Marisol, Clarissa, and Ginevra, and in Kansas, where a woman had Ron, Elkanah, and Abishai in 2018. Clearly, while rare, it is not out of the realm of possibility.
How Can Triplets be Identical?
Identical triplets work much like identical twins. Identical twins occur when one egg, fertilized by one sperm, later divides into two, forming two separate babies. Identical triplets happen when the egg splits three ways. Unlike fraternal twins, which are as genetically related as regular siblings, identical twins and triplets share the same DNA.
Research indicates that identical twins tend to run in families, but there are no guarantees. Triplets, particularly identical ones, are even less predictable. Despite the joy of delivering multiples, they often come with complications, typically being born prematurely and with low birth weights. This often results in extended hospital stays post-birth.
As Dr. Jonathan Herman of the Long Island Jewish Medical Center puts it, “The more babies you have [at once], the more dangerous it is. There’s a saying that twins are twice as much fun for the family, but three times as much trouble for doctors.”
Thanks to advances in modern fertility treatments, multiples are becoming increasingly common. While difficult to imagine raising three babies at once, with love, support, and excellent medical care, each child can thrive as healthily as any other baby.
