A Mississippi woman got the shock of her life when she delivered quadruplets on Feb. 8 of this year. The surprise came after Kimberly Fugate, 42 of Jess, Mississippi, gave birth to three identical twin baby girls. However, things got interesting when the doctors saw another pair of legs, signaling that this woman is about to give birth to quadruplets in one day.
Apparently, Fugate was expecting triplets as the previous ultrasounds did not pick up on the fourth child. This is the reason why everyone is so surprised, though it is not certain how doctors managed to make such a huge blunder.
"They had got the three out, and they said, 'More feet,'" Fugate said. "'More feet' ... that's all I heard and I said, 'Nooo!'"
Fugate and her husband, Craig, have a 10 year old daughter together, and everyone is very happy with what they are viewing as a blessing sent from above. A woman giving birth to quadruplets is not a rare occasion; however, a woman giving birth to identical quadruplets is rare.
So rare is identical quadruplets that only 60 cases have ever been recorded in medical history. Fulgate and Craig won't have an easy time raising these four baby girls, but at least they can look back and know for sure that they are in the record books.
"The odds of spontaneous quadruplets is one in every 729,000 live births," said Dr. James Bofill, a professor of maternal fetal medicine. "The chances of having identical quadruplets [are] almost incalculable."
Interestingly enough, all four girls were born three months before Fugate's due date, which means they will have to stay in the hospital to develop their lungs fully.
"I haven't been able to hold them yet," Fugate said. "It will be very exciting to get to take them home and love them."
According to the parents, the girls are named, Kenleigh Rosa, Kristen Sue, Kayleigh Pearl and Kelsey Roxanne. It will likely be a different task to tell these children apart, but as time goes by, it should get easier for the parents.
