Photo

A set of quadruplets, two of whom are identical twins, were delivered at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital on Monday in a "one-in-a-million event," according to a hospital press release. The babies -- three boys and a girl -- were conceived without the use of fertility drugs, a rare occurrence.

Only one in 600,000 multiple births are conceived naturally, a hospital spokesperson noted. Monday’s babies are the only set of multiple-birth infants delivered at Packard Hospital to have been conceived without use of fertility drugs in the last four years, according to Packard Hospital spokesman Todd Kleinheinz.

More than 5,000 babies are delivered at Packard annually. The hospital has delivered only two sets of quintuplets in 2002, five sets of triplets in 2003, six sets of triplets in 2004 and one set of quadruplets in 2004. So far, in 2005, another set of quadruplets was delivered. All of these multiple births were produced through fertility drugs, Kleinheinz said.

The births are doubly rare because two of the boys are identical twins, an occurrence with odds of less than one in a million, according to Packard perinatologist Dr. James Smith.

Luz Maria Marmolejo, 39, of San Mateo gave birth in what was described as “an exceptionally uncommon and very demanding” delivery. David, 2.6 pounds; Kamilla, 2.49 pounds; Roni, 2.27 pounds and Dror, 2.22 pounds, were delivered in just 6 minutes. Born 11 weeks prematurely at 27 weeks through Cesarean section by Dr. Jeffrey Faig, the babies are considered to be large for quadruplets, according to a hospital spokesman.

Marmolejo, who is recovering after delivery, and husband Yehonatan Tzairi were stunned when they learned in May they would be adding four children to their family, she said. The couple has a nine-year-old son.

Despite the risks inherent in multiple births, Marmolejo feels blessed, excited and overwhelmed, she said. Her mother, who lives with the family, quit her job in June to help care for Marmolejo and will help care for the babies.

The family is in the process of buying four of everything. Once a two-income family of four, including Marmolejo’s mother, the family is now eight, supported by one income. An official fund hasn’t been set up yet, but already well-wishers are making financial donations, according to Kleinheinz.

The babies are doing well, considering their prematurity, doctors said. They remain in Packard’s neonatal intensive care unit, on ventilators to assist their underdeveloped lungs. They are expected to remain at the hospital for several more weeks to receive specialized growth and development treatment.