Discovering that you’re having triplets would leave most parents in shock, and that’s exactly how 23-year-old Becki-Jo Allen felt when her doctors revealed she was carrying not one, but three babies. She was completely taken aback by the news.

However, Becki-Jo’s surprises didn’t end there. After giving birth, she received another unexpected revelation—one that nobody, not even her doctors, had foreseen. The three baby boys she had delivered were not just triplets; they were incredibly rare identical triplets, a phenomenon with odds of about one in 200 million!

Becki-Jo and her partner were thrilled to share the news with their daughter, Indiana, who was about to become a big sister—times three! Living just outside Liverpool, England, the couple had considered having more children, but they never anticipated their family would grow so dramatically. It almost felt like fate had made the decision for them.

Early in her pregnancy, Becki-Jo experienced severe sickness and debilitating headaches. Concerned, her doctors scheduled an ultrasound earlier than usual, and that’s when they discovered she was expecting triplets. Becki-Jo later shared:

“It was the biggest shock of my life! We haven’t got any triplets in the family, so it came completely out of the blue.”

The three boys, Rohan, Roman, and Rocco, were delivered by Caesarean section at 31 weeks, each weighing approximately 3 pounds 5 ounces. After spending six weeks in intensive care to gain strength, they were finally able to go home with their parents.

Triplet pregnancies often come with significant risks, and it’s rare for all three babies to survive without complications. Becki-Jo and her partner were deeply grateful that their boys not only survived but thrived, steadily gaining weight during their time in the hospital.

Initially, doctors believed the boys were not identical triplets, but everyone who visited the family was struck by how remarkably alike they looked. Curious, Becki-Jo decided to dig deeper. She arranged for a private DNA test, sending samples to a lab. The results confirmed what many suspected—the boys were genetically identical.

Naturally occurring identical triplets are extremely rare. For this to happen, a single fertilized egg must split into two, and then one of those splits again, all within the first ten days of pregnancy. In 2015, only four sets of identical triplets were born in the United States.