Rare identical triplets born in Missouri

Nicole and Caleb Choge were excited to find out they were expecting another baby, surprised when told they were having more than one, and shocked when they ultimately welcomed rare identical triplets.

A 2003 study in the Journal of Biosocial Science found that identical triplets happen only 20 to 30 times per 1 million births. The baby boys — Ron, Elkanah, and Abishai — were born Thursday, and are "doing wonderfully," doctors at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri, said. The triplets were born six weeks premature, and are under observation in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Nicole and Caleb Choge also have a toddler son, and Caleb told The Kansas City Star the three of them "prayed for another child. And then, I like to say, God answered everybody's prayer: one, two, and three." The Choge family recently moved to the Kansas City area from Kenya, where Caleb is from and where he worked as a pilot. Reality has slowly started to settle in for the new dad of four, who told the Star, "Man, I need a bigger car. Now the logistics come in my mind, I'm like all right, this is a whole different ballgame." Catherine Garcia

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up