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Canadian woman delivers rare identical quadruplets

Helena, Aug. 18 (AP): A 35-year-old Canadian woman has given birth to rare identical quadruplets, hospital officials said.

Karen Jepp of Calgary, Alberta, delivered Autumn, Brooke, Calissa and Dahlia by Caesarian section at Benefis Healthcare hospital in Great Falls, Montana, said Amy Astin, the hospital's director of community and government relations.

The four girls were breathing without ventilators and listed in good condition, Astin said. The last reported set were born in April 2006 to a 26-year-old Indian woman.

"These babies are doing grand," said Dr Tom Key, the perinatologist who delivered the girls.

The babies were born about two months early and were conceived without fertility drugs, he said. They weighed between 1.18 kilograms and 0.98 kilograms.

The couple also have a two-year-old son, Simon.

The chances of giving birth to identical quadruplets is about one in 13 million, Key said.

"This is a very big medical event," he said. "Identical quadruplets are extremely rare."

Medical literature indicates there are less than 50 sets of identical quadruplets, said Dr Jamie Grifo, Director, NYU Fertility Center, New York.

The Jepps drove 523 kilometres to Great Falls for the births because hospitals in Calgary were at capacity, Key said.

International

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