Identical Triplets Born in Kosice, It's Unique Case, Says Hospital

Kosice, 22 July (TASR) - Identical triplets have been born in the Kosice-based Children's Faculty Hospital, the hospital informed the media on Tuesday, adding that this is a unique case, as its probability is extremely low - one in 100 million births. Three baby girls, Sara (2,200 grams), Ester (1,660 grams) and Livia (1,800 grams), were born in late June, by Caesarean section during the 33rd week of their mother's pregnancy. "Despite the premature birth, they've made wonderful progress from the very first moment. After four weeks, each of them has gained almost 400 grams and is making huge progress every day, bringing joy to both their parents and our staff," the hospital has posted on a social network. Their 33-year-old mother Petronela is breastfeeding and caring for all three children under the care of the hospital's neo-natal and rehabilitation department. The hospital explained that natural identical triplets occur when a single fertilised egg splits into two at an early stage of pregnancy and then one of them splits again. "The result is three identical embryos that have a identical genotype, the same sex and often a very similar appearance," the hospital said. ko/df