Infertility is a serious problem for many people in the United States. Despite wanting kids beyond measure and doing their best to have children, some couples spend years trying to conceive with no luck.
Allyson and Tony Ponto from Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota, were one of these couples, having struggled to have children for over a decade.
Although the couple had managed to get pregnant 4 times in the span of 5 years, each one was an ectopic pregnancy not predicted to survive to term.
Ectopic pregnancies occur when the embryo attaches somewhere other than the uterus. In 90% of ectopic pregnancies, the embryo attaches to the fallopian tubes; this is why ectopic pregnancies are also known as ‘tubal pregnancies’.
As you can imagine, the cycle of excitement and grief was unbearable for the Iron Range couple— and things only got worse when doctors told Allyson she would no longer be able to naturally conceive as a result of built-up scar tissue from the miscarriages.
The two were determined to become parents, however, deciding to try everything at their disposal, including in-vitro fertilization (IVF). When Allyson underwent the IVF treatment, there was only a 30% chance that the embryo would take. So, to increase the odds, the doctor implanted 3 of them.
However, a few weeks later, when Allyson and Tony arrived for their first ultrasound, they were shocked by what they saw on the screen.
“Three? We got three babies?!” Tony cried out in disbelief.
“No…” said the stunned nurse. “You’ve got 4!”
Not only did all three embryos defy the odds— one of them developed into identical twins, meaning Allyson was pregnant with quadruplets!
Quadruplets are, as a general rule, extremely rare. Kare11 reports that there were only 228 quadruplets among the nearly 4 million babies born in the United States last year.
Using these numbers, the chances are about 6 in 100,000 of giving birth to quadruplets. When you take into account the Pontos struggle with infertility, the odds are even more impressive!
On July 4th, 2017, the Allyson gave birth to 4 beautiful baby girls: Olivia, Anna, Morgan, and Carolyn.
In an interview, Allyson tells Kare11, “My favorite number is 7, but now we might have to change it. I couldn’t be happier. They are healthy, and they didn’t have to stay long in the NICU.”
The babies were born at 32 weeks gestation, and as of the July 20th, 2017, Kare11 reports that they are thriving well.
For more updates about the Ponto quadruplets, check out their Facebook page, 4 Peas in a Ponto.
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