A Mississippi mom has given birth to a surprise fourth baby while delivering what she had thought was a set of triplets. Kimberley Fugate learned of the surprise delivery mid-operation when a doctor told her, “there are more feet.”
Kimberly Fugate wasn’t prepared for the news that age 42, she’d be a mother again. But her unexpected pregnancy wasn’t even the most startling news Kimberly would get.
She, her husband Craig, and their 10-year-old daughter Katelyn, were shocked to discover they’d be welcoming a set of identical female triplets into their lives.
Needless to say, nothing could have prepared Fugate for what happened after giving birth to three healthy baby girls at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
The doctor looked at her and said, "More feet."
Moments later, a fourth girl, concealed from ultrasound imaging throughout the pregnancy, was born.
When Fugate's husband walked into the recovery room to see his wife, he had no idea about the last-minute addition. She held up her arm adorned with four plastic identification bracelets and told him to count.
Her physician, UMMC's director of maternal-fetal medicine, Dr. James Bofill, said discovering a fourth baby during the delivery was a first in his 27-year career.
"I was very embarrassed, obviously," he said. "The news was sent to me by one of my fellows. I thought she was kidding."
Even more unbelievable was that Fugate gave birth to identical quadruplets, an event of "almost incalculable" odds, Bofill said.
"We've seen quadruplets here before, but we've never seen identical quadruplets," Bofill said. "That's what makes this case so unique and unusual."
When a German woman delivered identical quads in 2012, medical experts said the odds were about 13 million to 1 and that there were approximately 60 sets in the entire world.
Kimberly Fugate of Jayess, Miss., speaks to reporters during a press conference on Friday at the Ronald McDonald House at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
"No one really knows what makes a single zygote separate into identical twins or identical triplets, or in this case, identical quadruplets," Bofill said. "It's definitely an accident; it's not supposed to happen and, in some cases, like Ms. Fugate's, it happens in a spectacular manner."
The Fugate four — Kenleigh, Kristen, Kaleigh and hidden surprise Kelsey — will remain in UMMC's neonatal intensive care unit until May due to their premature birth. Despite complications that often arise in multiple pregnancies, Bofill said the babies are healthy.
As for Fugate, her husband and 10-year-old daughter, Katelyn, there's a lot to be done before the quadruplets go home.
Fugate's sister, Kelly Reid, said since the babies came at 28 weeks, there was no time for a baby shower. Aside from additional clothing, diapers and other necessary supplies, the Fugates don't yet have a vehicle big enough to accommodate the family of seven.
Helping the Fugates handle four newborn babies likely will be a family and community effort, Reid said. Women from a church in Jayess have offered to take shifts to help care for the quadruplets when they finally come home.
Though nothing about Fugate's pregnancy was planned, she considers it "a blessing" and is relieved the quadruplets are here and healthy.
Asked if she plans on having more children, there's no hesitation in her answer.
"This. Is. It," she said, smiling.
