She was told that her chances of conceiving a child with in vitro fertilization (IVF) were just 10%.
Chances of having identical triplets are pegged at one in 200 million. A Utah woman has now surpassed those odds by giving birth to three identical boys at the age of 46 - making it a 1 in 20 billion possibilities, according to some statisticians.
Audrey Tiberius was 41 when she began consulting fertility specialists to grow her family. However, she was told that her chances of conceiving a child with in vitro fertilization (IVF) were just 10%, per PEOPLE.
“They said, ‘I’m sorry, your eggs are too old’ … We did three rounds of in vitro and they all failed,” said Tiberius, who also has sons Marcus, 13, James, 11, Christian, 9, and Max, 7. But then something unexpected happened - she became pregnant naturally four years later.
In March 2022, Tiberius gave birth to Sky, River, and Bay and is now a busy mom of seven. “I always had seven in my mind — that was always my dream number. But I didn’t think it would happen for me because of my age,” she shared.
Who is Audrey Tiberius? Wiki, Bio, Age, Husband, Becomes mother to TRIPLETS https://t.co/1bkvOL0ymV
— Wikibioin (@wikibioin) September 8, 2022
Audrey, and her husband, Tyler Tiberius, are over the moon. “I just feel like my life is complete now with these sweet babies,” she told KSL-TV. "I prayed and prayed for five years to have more children because I always wanted a really big family," she said.
However, Audrey also wishes she had known more about fertility and her body. She told Today she was naive when it came to her fertility - she assumed she would be able to have babies in her 40s since her paternal grandmother did the same.
“I didn’t realize that older celebrities often use frozen eggs or donor eggs,” she said. “Doctors need to talk to women about fertility and what their options are to save them heartache." Dr. Lisa Thiel, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Spectrum Health West Michigan, told Today that it was quite rare to become pregnant without medical intervention at 45.
Woman, 46, Welcomes Identical Triplets Years After Being Told by Doctors Her 'Eggs Were Too Old' https://t.co/oAYTIDpxcY
— People (@people) September 7, 2022
"We have millions and millions of eggs when we're born and then they die off over time. As we start to get into our mid-thirties we have less eggs that are appropriate for reproduction and getting pregnant is harder to achieve," Thiel said.
For Audrey, the birth of her triplets is nothing short of a miracle. “The odds of this happening are so incredibly rare that, to me, it just must be a miracle,” she said.
Audrey spends about seven hours a day pumping breast milk and is now looking to donors for help so she can spend time with her family. And while seven was her number, Audrey and her husband may not be giving up yet.
“I really wanted a daughter. My husband says, ‘Hey, obviously the sky’s the limit on what could happen.’ So, maybe we’re not done. Who knows?” she added
References:
https://www.today.com/parents/moms/woman-46-gives-birth-identical-triplets-rcna46473
https://ksltv.com/504616/utah-woman-gives-birth-to-identical-triplets-at-46/
Cover Image Source: YouTube | KSL News
