JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A Purvis couple welcomed the birth of quintuplets at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson on Thursday, February 16.

Haylee and Shawn Ladner welcomed identical females Adalyn Elizabeth, Everleigh Rose, Malley Kate and Magnolia Mae, along with male Jake Easton.

They were born by caesarian section and hospital staff say they’re faring well for their gestational age of 28 weeks and one day.

UMMC staff said about three years into their marriage, the couple wanted to start a family. After Haylee had problems conceiving and experienced a miscarriage, they tried intrauterine insemination, or IUI. One of the fertilized eggs divided four ways, resulting in identical quadruplet girls, and the other egg was their brother. 

“We’re just really excited because these are our miracle babies. I didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to be a mother to even one baby. Now that I’m able to be a mother to five, it’s the greatest blessing of my entire life,” said Haylee.

Haylee was admitted to the hospital on January 11 so her doctors could keep an eye on her. Dr. Rachael Morris, associate professor of maternal fetal medicine, who provided prenatal care and delivered the newborns, said Haylee has been recovering well.

“She had a quintuplet pregnancy with four identical females. Reports of spontaneous quintuplets vary but are about 1 in 60 million.  There are very few reports of identical quadruplets in the literature to date. Reported incidence is 1 in 10 to 15 million pregnancies. There is only one other report of this combination in the literature from 2018,” said Morris.

Hospital staff said the Ladner quintuplets are thought to be the highest number of multiple babies born at UMMC since the quadruplets of Craig and Kimberly Fugate were born at UMMC in 2014.