Bratislava, July 23 (Bernama-dpa) — An extremely rare identical triplets were delivered in the Children’s University Hospital in Košice in the eastern city of Slovakia on Tuesday, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
The girls, named Sara, Ester and Livia, were delivered by caesarean section in the second half of June in the 33rd week of pregnancy.
The hospital explained such cases occur extremely rarely, approximately once in every 100 million births, and it is always associated with significant risks.
Identical, or monozygotic, triplets occur when a fertilised egg splits in the early stages of pregnancy, and one of the two resulting eggs splits again. The result is three genetically identical embryos of the same sex, said the hospital.
All three babies have grown well since then and are showing daily progress. Each of them gained nearly 400 gms in weight over the past four weeks and can be discharged soon, said the hospital.
The mother, whose first name Petronela was the only detail released, is breastfeeding her triplets and is being cared for at the hospital along with newborns. She already has a 5-year-old daughter.
–BERNAMA-dpa