LIKE 3 PEAS IN A POD!
The identical triplets born without IVF at odds of 200m-1
WHEN Lina Sapia and her husband decided to try for another baby after having a daughter by IVF, they were ready to go down the same route.
But then Mrs Sapia achieved what she had thought impossible – not only conceiving naturally, but producing identical triplets at odds put at 200million-to-one.
The couple are now proud parents to 13-week-old Luis, Piero and remi, who are adored by their big sister alba, one.
‘We wanted to have another baby and assumed we would need to go through IVF again after being diagnosed with unexplained infertility,’ said Mrs Sapia, 35, of Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.
She and her husband Fabio, 37, a risk analyst, had planned to use one of four embryos they had frozen when they discovered she was expecting in September.
‘We booked in for a scan at six weeks to check the baby was healthy and the nurse kept asking me questions such as had I been feeling sick,’ said Mrs Sapia.
‘I said no but I did feel slightly bigger than before – I looked bloated, like I had eaten a huge plate of pasta. Then she said there’s more than one heartbeat. We were in total shock.’
although triplet pregnancies have a high risk of miscarriage, Mrs Sapia gave birth at 32 weeks to Luis, 2lb 8oz, Piero, 3lb 6oz, and remi, 3lb 12oz.
‘Fabio wasn’t allowed to see them for three weeks while they were in hospital due to the coronavirus restrictions – only via FaceTime, which was difficult,’ said Mrs Sapia, who praised the ‘absolutely incredible’ team at St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey. The only complication is that the triplets still wear wristbands with their initial on to ensure they are not mixed up during night feeds. Mrs Sapia said: ‘One baby nearly got fed twice as it is hard to tell them apart.’