Couple welcomes rare, naturally conceived quadruplets: 'Absolutely speechless'

A couple in Scotland has welcomed four naturally conceived quadruplets, expanding their family of four into a family of eight.

Arlene and John Mitchell welcomed the quadruplets, all boys, at The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh on May 14 in Scotland.

The four boys are named Ben, Noah, Harrison and Rory. Their arrivals were celebrated on the hospital's social media channels.

In the posts, Arlene and John stand in front of the four cribs in which their children are nestled.

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A second photo shows the team of doctors, nurses and midwives who helped the children be born.

In a third photo Arlene holds all four of her children in her lap.

The post reads: "Arlene and John Mitchell from West Lothian have welcomed the first naturally conceived quadruplets to Lothian — Ben, Noah, Harrison, and Rory! 👶

"A dedicated team of 17 doctors and midwives delivered the quadruplets and we are immensely proud of our teams for their dedication and expertise 💙."

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Arlene told BBC welcoming four children has been an "incredible and overwhelming experience."

She said she was shocked to be told there were four babies at the first scan.

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"I was absolutely speechless and my husband just couldn't believe it," she said.

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Arlene and John have two older children – Lauren and Hunter.

The smallest of the baby brothers, Harrison, weighed 1.3 kilos while Ben, Noah, and Rory each weighed slightly more at 1.33 kilos.

Naturally conceived quadruplets are extremely rare, with doctors estimating the odds at about one in 700,000 births.

These pregnancies are risky and Arlene was closely monitored throughout.

"Having quadruplets is a high-risk pregnancy and at every scan, I was really anxious that there wouldn't be four heartbeats," she said.

"The midwifery team were absolutely amazing, they really supported me every step of the way."

Each baby had an individual team of four clinicians assigned to look after them.

At firsts the boys were placed in Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) at the hospital before Harrison and Rory were moved to the special care unit at St John's Hospital in Livingston to be closer to the family before being joined by Ben and Noah.

Katy Ruggeri, NHS Lothian associate director of midwifery, told BBC: "Delivering quadruplets is an extraordinary experience and I am immensely proud of our entire midwifery and neonatal team for their dedication and expertise throughout this remarkable journey.

"This was the first set of quadruplets delivered in Lothian and it's something the entire team will remember for the rest of their careers."

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