Identical Triplets born at NSUH

In an event described by officials at North Shore University Hospital as 1 in 200 million, a Long Island woman has given birth to identical triplets.
The parents, Tom and Allison Penn, welcomed their sons - Logan, Eli and Collin - on Thursday, February 27, at 3 p.m. The boys are in excellent health and were able to go home with their mother shortly after delivery.
Dr. Victor Klein, an obstetrician who specializes in high-risk pregnancies and delivered the triplets, said the birth is the first time he has seen three identical babies born from one embryo.
Although the triplets were conceived using in vitro fertilization (IVF), an assisted reproductive procedure which often produces multiple births, he observed that most multiple birth cases result from embryos with separate placentas.
Aware of these facts, the couple tried to avoid having multiple births by artificially fertilizing only a single embryo. For Allison, however, that single embryo split twice and the three fetuses shared a single placenta.
The couple found out about the triplets during a routine sonogram, 8 weeks into the pregnancy. They first heard one set of pulsating heartbeats, and then another, and then another. Allison recalled her initial reaction of holding her mouth agape in total surprise; her husband began repeating the phrase, “That’s not possible.”
Their shock turned to laughter and then tears of joy as they realized their unexpected gifts.
Even more unusual, Allison was able to carry the triplets 35 weeks into her pregnancy term with no complications, which allowed the triplets to reach a healthy weight. At delivery, Logan weighed 4 pounds and 12 ounces; Eli, 4 pounds; and Collin, 4 pounds and 11 ounces.
So far, it is not easy to tell the triplets apart, says Allison. Sometimes Eli appears slightly smaller than his brothers, but for now, the couple is hoping that the solution of hospital wristbands and painting their sons’ fingernails a different color will not mix up their identities.