Couple Gives Birth to Identical Triplets

A couple in Wales have beaten the odds of 200 million to one by giving birth to identical triplet baby girls.  

The baby girls, named Ffion, Maddison and Paige Gilbert, were formed when a single egg split into three--an extremely rare occurrence. The family finally arrived home after spending six weeks in the hospital, according to the Mirror.

While doctors had previously warned the couple that the unborn babies could steal fluid from each other in the cramped space they shared, possibly killing one of them, the parents were determined to carry out the entire pregnancy.

Though the children were born two months early at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, the 32-year-old mother admits that she's overjoyed for their safe arrival, weighing in at a little over 3.8lbs each.

"The pregnancy has taken its toll but now I'm taking my time to recover and get to know my three beautiful girls," said Karen Gilbert, via The Daily Mail.

"The doctors thought it could be up to three months before we could bring them home so we feel privileged to have them here with us."

And just to get your daily dose of science with this news, a general stereotype about identical twins, triplets, etc., is that they are clones of each other. This is simply not true despite the fact that these siblings may look "identical" or carry similar characteristics or traits. Some may also be curious if identicals carry the same fingerprints. The answer is no. Despite similarities in looks, everyone is simply unique. 

And to back it up, science proves it.