Four of a kind! Identical quadruplets

Identical Quadruplets Preana, Audreana, Natalie, and Melody Khamsa were delivered just minutes after midnight on March 27, 2002, at Sutter Memorial Hospital to West Sacramento, California, couple Ornsee Khamsa and Verek Muy. The girls are genetically identical, originating from a single egg fertilized by a single sperm, doctors said.Although there are about 500 sets of quadruplets born in the United States every year, hospital officials estimated the birth of the identical quadruplets happens only once in 11 million deliveries. The couple did not use fertility drugs, making the births even more amazing, doctors said.

"It was a lot of fun to be involved," said Alex Mentakis, M.D., the obstetrician and perinatologist who delivered the quadruplets by Caesarean section. "This delivery is the most unusual of my career. I can't imagine I'll see anything like this again."

Born after only 30 weeks' gestation, the largest baby weighs 2 pounds, 8 ounces. The smallest is 2 pounds, 5 ounces. Each of the babies, who measure 14 to 15 inches from head to toe, sports a scalp of black hair. Khamsa, 22, and Muy, 20, live with relatives in West Sacramento. Khamsa and Muy also have a 4-year-old son named Raymond. Told about his forthcoming siblings, he said he would prefer brothers.

Specialists monitored the girls in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Sutter Memorial Hospital for six to eight weeks. But doctors said that so far, they expect the four babies to be fine. Proud father Muy could only smile when asked what he would do when his new crew became teenagers. "The hard part is ahead of them," said Dr Mentakis.