B.C. couple expecting rare identical triplets
Doctors say identical triplets only come along once in 50 million births
A British Columbia couple who have waited years to become parents are expecting three babies at once — identical triplets.
Doctors say three of a kind come along only once in 50 million births.
For Mahalia Meeuwsen and her husband Mike, just having one baby seemed like a miracle.
The 42-year-old Meeuwsen is 30 weeks pregnant with identical triplet girls — conceived naturally without the use of fertility treatments.
The mom-to-be says to look on the ultrasound and see the three of them growing is simply amazing.
Meeuwsen says all the babies appear healthy but she has been admitted to hospital for bed rest.
Doctors are hoping the triplets will continue to grow in their mother's womb until a C-section on Nov. 16, when they will be at 34 weeks gestation.
A normal, single pregnancy is around 40 weeks.
The couple from Salmon Arm married in 2005 with hopes of becoming parents.
By 2011, they were still waiting and visited a fertility clinic to try and discover the cause of the infertility.
They decided not to do in-vitro and came to terms with being childless.
However, in April, Meeuwsen was experiencing some unusual symptoms she chalked up to early menopause — until a call from her doctor's office confirmed she was pregnant and subsequent ultrasounds revealed the triple surprise.