One in 100,000: Mandan couple expecting identical triplets

MANDAN, N.D. (KFYR) – A Mandan couple just wanted one more baby.

Instead, they’re having three!

Heather Muscha Metcalf and her husband, Tyler, always wanted a baby girl.

“We were really hoping for a baby girl, and now we’ve got three!” said Muscha Metcalf.

Muscha Metcalf is pregnant with triplets. That only happens once in about every 8,000 pregnancies. But Heather is carrying identical triplets. Those are even more uncommon.

“Probably one in 100,000 or even more rare,” said Laura Knutson, MD and Muscha Metcalf’s OB-GYN.

Muscha Metcalf’s pregnancy is considered high risk simply because she’s carrying more than one baby.

“With a triplet pregnancy there are higher risk of pretty much any pregnancy complication you can think of. The most concerning is risk of preterm delivery and low birth weights for babies,” explained Knutson.

“The other unique factor is the fact that there’s only one placenta for all three of these fetuses, which is actually extremely rare,” added Ana Tobiasz, MD and maternal fetal medicine specialist at Sanford Health.

That means Muscha Metcalf is at the doctor’s office every week. She alternates between visits with her ob-gyn and her maternal fetal medicine specialist. And every two weeks, there’s a new ultrasound.

“She’s having a lot of extra ultrasounds to monitor for that condition, and a lot of visits to keep an eye on her blood pressure and how she’s feeling,” said Knutson.

“I feel pretty good,” said Muscha Metcalf.

Her doctors say, so far, so good. Mom and babies are both doing great.

“These are very special babies,” said Tobaisz.

Babies that Muscha Metcalf can’t wait to meet.

“I’m really excited because we were, I mean, we’re getting extra. We’re getting a little girl and plus two more!” she said.

And as her belly grows, so does this mother’s love. Because while triplets may be more than they expected, this family says these three baby girls are exactly what they needed.

Muscha Metcalf’s pregnancy is 100% natural; she and her husband didn’t use any fertility drugs or treatments.

Her doctors hope she will carry the babies until 32 to 34 weeks, which would be early December.

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