Special delivery: Alabama couple’s quadruplets are 2 sets of identical twins

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Quadruplets are rare, to begin with. An Alabama couple took it a step further, as their four infants are two sets of identical twins.

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Hannah Carmack, 29, gave birth on March 14, AL.com reported. Girls Evelyn and Adeline, along with boys David and Daniel, were delivered by cesarean section at the UAB Women & Infants Center in Birmingham, Alabama.

“My wife is a rock star,” Michael Carmack told “Today.”

The quadruplets are expected to remain in the hospital until their technical due date next month, AL.com reported. The children need assistance eating, but they are breathing on their own, the news outlet reported.

The Carmacks are from Boaz, according to their GoFundMe page. They already have an 8-year-old daughter, Emily, and Michael wanted to expand the family. The couple was only expecting one, but they got a big surprise.

“I had to convince Hannah it was a good idea to have a second child,” Michael told “Today.” “Imagine how she reacted when she found out we were having four!”

According to their GoFundMe page, the Carmacks learned that Hannah was pregnant with quadruplets on Oct. 31, 2022.

Hannah Carmack, a veterinary technician, identified two sacs on the screen during her first pregnancy scan.

“She was like, ‘Twins?’ But the ultrasound tech didn’t respond,” Michael Carmack, a drug and rehabilitation counselor, told “Today.” “Then Hannah goes, ‘Is it three?’ Then the ultrasound tech put her hand on Hannah’s knee and said, ‘Sweetie, it’s four.’

“I started laughing. Hannah started to cry.”

The odds of conceiving spontaneous quadruplets fall between 1 in 512,000 to 1 in 677,000

According to the Journal of Family and Reproductive Health the odds of conceiving quadruplets are between 1 in 512,000 to 1 in 677,000.

“The rate of triplets or higher is only 80 in 100,000 births,” Meghana Limaye, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at NYU Langone Health, told “Today.” “To have two sets of identical twins, meaning that both embryos split after fertilization, makes it even more rare.”

The quadruplets were born at 27 weeks, the news outlet reported. Adeline was the smallest infant at 1 pound, 10.5 ounces, while Evelyn was the largest of the group, born at 2 pounds, 9 ounces.

The Carmacks started a GoFundMe page on Monday. The couple is trying to remodel their 1,200-square-foot home to more than 3,000 square feet.

Hannah Carmack continues to hold down her job at night and tends to the infants during the day.

“Hannah persuades the nurses to let her hold more than one baby at a time because she knows how important it is for them to hear and feel her,” Michael Carmack told “Today.” “She has a connection with these babies like no one else.”