After 9 years of longing to start a family, Quadruplets came along at once.

AFRIK UPDATE

A couple who had been trying for a baby for almost a decade are celebrating the birth of quadruplet girls . The babies are now seven weeks old, doing well in hospital and likely to be allowed to go home next month, when the whirlwind of sleepless nights and feeding will kick in.

With the odds of having quads from one embryo estimated at more than two million to one.

The babies had a combined weight of just over 10lb when they were born at the Jessop Hospital in Sheffield on March 25. Darcy weighed 2lb, followed  by Caroline at 2lb 3oz, Elisha at 2lb 14oz and Alexis at 3lb.

                             

Mr Clark, a lorry driver, said: ‘The girls are all doing well. Now we can’t wait to get them home.’

He added that the couple were on the verge of giving up hope of a baby when they decided to try IVF. 

Just one embryo was implanted – and Mrs Clark, 36, found out she was pregnant only three weeks later.

An initial scan suggested triplets, but a second revealed four babies. Mr Clark, 43, said: ‘It was very emotional. We were happy, but worried about the logistics.’ 

She was admitted to hospital at 24 weeks because she was breathless, but doctors kept her stable until 30 weeks before delivering the four babies by caesarean. 

Experts believe the single embryo split into three before one of these split again, resulting in qudruplets.