PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Around one in 11 million.

Those are the odds medical experts gave Rachel and Marco Vargas for their rare pregnancy.

“I’m so happy to finally be able to touch and hold my four little girls now,” Rachel said.

You read that right.

After 30 weeks and three days of uncertainty and complications, the Cranston couple successfully delivered four identical baby girls on Friday, Jan. 24.

However, with the rare “spontaneous conception” came several medical risks.

The first two babies reportedly shared the same amniotic sac and had a velamentous cord insertion, meaning the umbilical cord attached to the fetal membranes instead of the placenta. According to Banner Health, this condition carries a 30-40% risk of death for both fetuses.

The second baby will also likely need heart surgery in the coming weeks due to a congenital malformation.

Additionally, the third baby had a marginal cord insertion, where the umbilical cord attached to the edge of the placenta instead of the center.

Two babies were later diagnosed with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), a condition where identical twins sharing a placenta experience uneven blood flow. Without treatment, one twin can struggle to grow while the other may develop heart complications.

With these growing complications, the Vargas family sought alternative care.

At 21 weeks, the couple relocated to Phoenix to receive treatment from maternal-fetal medicine specialist Dr. John Elliott and the Valley Perinatal Services team.

“The outlook when I first started to care for Rachel was quite grim,” Elliott said.

Although this was the 127th time Elliott had delivered quadruplets, he said he had never seen a pregnancy like Rachel’s.

Factoring in all the additional medical challenges, he estimated their odds could be closer to one in 40 million.

“Despite the odds that we were facing, the combination of our highly trained medical personnel and the family’s positive attitude helped lead to this excellent outcome,” Elliot said.

Seven weeks after being admitted to Banner University Medical Center for pre-term labor, Sofia, Philomena, Veronica, and Isabel were born via C-section.

“A lot of my pregnancy was filled with uncertainty, but I think it’s important for other families like ours to have hope and advocate for themselves — it’s okay to seek multiple opinions to decide on the best plan for your family,” Rachel said.

The couple, who also have a one-year-old and a three-year-old, is looking forward to return home to Cranston and start their newest chapter.

“We’re eager to get back home soon and begin this new part of our lives with our growing family,” Marco said. “It certainly hasn’t been an easy journey, but we’re so grateful for the realistic yet positive attitude that Dr. Elliott instilled in us, as well as the stellar care from all of the teams who have helped us at Banner.”

Each of the four baby girls, weighing no more than four pounds, remains in the neonatal intensive care unit.

They will stay there under close monitoring until they are healthy enough to go home.

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