Identical triplets born in Austria

Is it because people are confused by the genetics involved that you felt the need to specify that they were not conceived with the help of reproductive technology?

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Dang, Eva! Sensitive much???
Sheesh!
There is NOTHING wrong with the fact that he mentioned fertility was not involved. I'm married to a doctor and the first thing he asked was, "Were they conceived with fertility meds?"
That's because the odds of something like this happening are astronomical to begin with -- but are greatly increased with the use of fertility drugs. The fact that these identical triplets were conceived without them is nothing short of amazing.
Congrats to the new parents; that is so exciting!

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WOO! Identical triplets?! Think of the tricks they can play on their parents/teachers/friends/etc. Good stuff right there!

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Why would the odds of identical triplets increase with fertility drugs? Identical triplets are caused by a single fertilized egg splitting, and then splitting again. Fertility drugs may increase the odds of non-identical multiples (by increasing the number of eggs produced) but wouldn't do anything to increase the odds of egg splitting. Or am I completely missing something?

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S. Kelly - I'm coming up on 2 years of treatment for infertility, which makes me pretty much as expert as a lay-man can get here. Infertility drugs CANNOT increase the chance of an egg splitting into identical copies of itself (whether that be 1, 2 or more!) They absolutely increase the chance of fraternal multiple births, but not identical multiple births. Having said that, I'm wondering if maybe you meant that having triplets in general is really uncommon (which it is, of course), and that most people who conceive them do so with the help of fertility meds (which is certainly true).

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Yes, Jen; that is what I meant. I'm afraid I wasn't very clear.
Most of the time -- these days -- when you hear of triplets being born, it's due to use of fertility meds. It's amazing to hear when they are conceived without them. Add to that, that these are IDENTICAL -- something I don't ever remember hearing about in my lifetime of 37 years -- and it's nothing short of a miracle.
That's all I was saying. =)

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Personally, I was completely dumfounded and amazed by the ability of those uber-precise Austrian folks to measure three squirming babies all to an accuracy of 0.1 inch (2.5 mm).

But I don't think it's a miracle. Miracles are supernatural, magical events which cannot be explained by science.

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And to that, I say:
"There are more things in heaven and earth, (Nancy), Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

That is YOUR definition of a miracle; Not mine.
To me, ALL babies are miracles. =)

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Actually, I've read that they recently discovered that some imbalance that occurs with fertility drugs is similar to the imbalance that causes fertilized eggs to divide. I'm not an expert, but I am not sure we can conclusively say that the chances of having identical triplets don't increase with fertility drugs. Still, it's pretty rare and amazing and exciting that all three survived.

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On August 8 1997 I gave birth to 3 identical beautiful baby girls it is truly a miracle! I did not take anything. God has really blessed me. And for those of you that did take something, it is also a miracle! I believe life is a miracle! No matter what. I look at them each day with a thankful heart. I can't believe it to this day, that I had three heart beats beating inside of me. I was very sick and felt like I would not be able to survive. One human being, one egg, split 3 times! Just amazing to me!

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