A new mother has described her shock after discovering she had given birth to quadruplets naturally and will now welcome two sets of identical twins.
Ebony Apps, 23, from Kempsey on the NSW north coast, and her partner Jayden Cornish, 21, will become parents in April.
The couple, who recently suffered two miscarriages, recalled the moment they discovered they were having quadruplets on Sunrise on Thursday morning.
“It was very shocking, but we are obviously very excited and feel very blessed about the whole situation,” Ms Apps said.
Dad-to-be Jayden revealed that at the time of the first scan they were told they were expecting twins.
On their fourth visit they received the life-changing news about the quads.
‘It was a huge shock. It only started to dawn on me in the last two weeks,” he said.
Ebony Apps, 23, from Kempsey on the NSW north coast, and her partner Jayden Cornish, 21, welcome two sets of identical twins in April
The expectant mother (pictured centre) wrote on her Go fund me page that the pregnancy is a miracle and that she and her partner (pictured right) are ‘over the moon’. Her mother Sonia Hadley is pictured on the left
The mother-to-be said the pregnancy is a miracle and the couple is “over the moon” on a Gofundme page set up to help cover the costs of four babies.
“But (we) are overwhelmed by the upcoming costs we will face,” she wrote.
“Any donation will be greatly appreciated and will be used to create our new life with our four babies.”
The young expectant mother said that her pregnancy is very rare.
‘No one really saw it. “All the ultrasound people had been working in the field for about 30 years and had never seen it,” she said.
Director of the Australian Multiple Birth Association Silje Andersen-Cooke told Daily Mail Australia that only 52 ‘higher order’ births – triplets or more – take place in Australia each year.
‘Quads are super rare. In Australia, 1.4 percent of births are multiple births. Of those 98 percent are twins, while the remaining 2 percent are higher order births,” she said.
‘Multiples bring unimaginable joy, but unavoidable challenges.’
The young expectant mother said that her pregnancy is very rare. ‘No one really saw it. “All the ultrasound people had been working in the field for about 30 years and they’ve never seen it,” she said
‘Women who are pregnant with a higher order pregnancy are susceptible to all pregnancy risks. They have to go on maternity leave earlier and about 98 to 100 percent of babies are born prematurely.’
Ms Andersen-Cooke said premature birth can bring many health problems, including babies being ten times more likely to develop cerebral palsy.
‘Despite the extra challenges, the government does not give you extra parental leave. There was more practical support in 1982 than there is now in 2024,” she said.
‘Home help only exists in some states, such as South Australia. NSW has no government support whatsoever.
‘We advocate support in line with New Zealand, which offers home support to multiple births.’
Ms Apps’ mother, Sonia Hadley, said her daughter’s pregnancy came at a huge cost as each item purchased had to be multiplied by four, and she admitted it was ‘overwhelming’.
“It’s a shame for the government that someone expecting multiples has to start a Gofundme page,” Ms Andersen-Cooke said.
‘Why don’t we help parents of multiples enough?’