A Mississippi woman who was expecting triplets got the shock of her life when she instead gave birth to identical quadruplets,
CNN reports.
Kimberly and Craig Fugate were expecting Kenleigh, Kristen, and Kayleigh. But Kelsey, born with her sisters on February 8, was a complete surprise.
The quads were born via cesarean section in the Winfred L. Wiser Hospital for Women and Infants at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi.
"They had gotten the three out and they said, 'More feet,' " the 42-year-old mother told CNN affiliate WAPT. "I said, 'No!' It was an instant shock."
The odds of conceiving quadruplets without fertility assistance are 1 in 729,000, according to James Bofill, M.D., Kimberly Fugate's physician. The odds in this case were even slimmer as the Fugate girls are identical, meaning they split from a single egg.
"Those odds are incalculable," Bofill said in a hospital press release.
The last known set of identical quadruplets was born in Germany in January 2012. Experts estimate there are only 50 to 60 sets worldwide.
Bofill told The Clarion Ledger the hidden quad was a first in his 27-year career.
"I was very embarrassed, obviously," Bofill said. "The news was sent to me by one of my fellows. I thought she was kidding."
The quadruplets join older sister Katelyn, who is 10 years old.