To be told she was expecting triplets was a big enough shock for any mother-to-be. Now thriving at home after spending six weeks in intensive care, little Roman, Rocco and Rohan had another surprise in store for Becki-Jo Allen, however.
After being told how similar they looked by other mums, she sent off samples of DNA to be tested – and she has now been told that against odds of up to an incredible 200 million to one, the naturally conceived trio are identical.
Fortunately for their 23-year-old mother, tell-tale features plus the ten-month-old triplets’ emerging personalities mean she for one has no trouble telling them apart.
‘When they were newborns it was quite hard to tell which one was which, but I never got them mixed up myself,’ she said yesterday. ‘They’ve all got dark birthmarks between their eyebrows, but Roman’s is slightly darker than the others’, and Rohan has got a birthmark on his leg as well.
‘When they were in the hospital, the doctors said they were non-identical, but since they came home lots of people have said they can’t tell them apart.’
According to the Multiple Births Foundation, the only way to establish for certain whether twins or triplets are identical – known as zygosity determination – is usually DNA testing.
After consulting them, Miss Allen took cheek swabs from Roman, Rocco and Rohan and sent them off to a laboratory to be analysed – and earlier this month received the news that they are genetically identical.
They are the youngest of what is thought to be only a handful of naturally conceived sets of identical triplets in the UK. ‘I was surprised because I expected them to be non-identical,’ she said. ‘But then I’m normally the only one who can tell them apart, so that does explain a lot!’
Miss Allen, from Gateacre, Liverpool, who also has a three-year-old daughter, Indiana, had an early scan nine weeks into the pregnancy due to severe headaches and nausea – and was given the bombshell news she was expecting triplets.
‘I couldn’t believe it,’ she said. ‘I hadn’t even thought it might be twins, let along triplets, and we haven’t got any in the family.’
Doctors from Liverpool Women’s Hospital carried out weekly scans, and the triplets were delivered by caesarean section at 31 weeks. Rocco was 3lb 5oz, Roman was 3lb 6oz and Rohan was 3lb 10oz. Now thriving at home, their personalities are starting to show through, their mother said. ‘Rohan is the loud one, he’s always shouting,’ she said. ‘Rocco is normally quite laid-back, but he can be feisty too, while Roman is usually complaining that he doesn’t want to share.
They’re always crawling about after the same toy, trying to get to it before their brothers do.
Source
Dailymail UK
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