Ashley Ness got a shock when told during a routine doctor's appointment that she was pregnant—only to get four times the surprise a couple of weeks later.
The woman from Taunton, Massachusetts was happy enough with the news received on February 11 that she was expecting. What she was not expecting was an ultrasound that showed she was, in fact, carrying quadruplets.
Ness told WCVB Channel 5 Boston that during the scan, the ultrasound technician said, "honey you're having four babies,' I said, 'I'm sorry, what?" It was the technician's first encounter with quadruplets in 15 years.
Ness said the quadruplets were conceived without any fertility treatment, which is rare enough.
But for even more eye-watering odds, let's look at the chances of what Ness is about to have. She will give birth to two sets of identical twins, two boys and two girls, and the chances of that happening are around one in 70 million, according to various sources, including Reproductive Facts.org.
Ness is a lifelong Taunton resident and lives with her partner Val Bettencourt, who initially thought news of the quadruplets was a prank, the Taunton Gazette reported. The couple already has four children between them aged between seven and 24.
Names have been chosen, but have not yet been revealed. Now she is bracing herself for a much busier life and is in the process of providing extra space on her three-bedroom home.
"I need to get a passenger van. I need to put an addition on the home," she told WCVB "there is just so much...I need to do a lot."
The babies are at 22 weeks and have a due date in mid-October. Doctors plan to deliver the newborns via C-Section at around 30 to 32 weeks after which they are likely to spend time in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Ness said she has received a lot of offers of help from family and friends, although she hoped that the current formula shortage would be long resolved before the quads' arrival. "Everyone who knows me has said 'if anyone can handle it, it's you.'"
She has also got advice via social media and consulted support groups specializing in multiple births, like Keeping Pace with Multiple Miracles. However, there is not much experience with quadruplets, even within the multiples community.
Ness, a hair stylist, told WCVB that before having her daughter Chanel, who is now eight, she had struggled to get pregnant but is looking forward to the coming months, however overwhelming they may be.
"I feel truly blessed."
