The Montalvos Beat The One-In-70-Million Odds Giving Birth To The Naturally Occurring Babies
36-year-old Tressa Montalvo and 43-year-old Manuel Montalvo, Jr. became the happy parents of two sets of identical twins (two boys sharing one placenta and two boys sharing another placenta) on Valentine’s Day. The four boys were delivered at 31 weeks by Dr. Joanie Hare of Houston Perinatal Associates (HPA). The four were born within moments of one another via Cesarean section at The Woman’s Hospital of Texas. Ace and Blaine, were born at 8:51 a.m. weighing 3 lbs., 10 oz., and 3 lbs., 15 oz. Cash and Dylan were just one minute behind, born at 8:52 a.m. weighing 2 lbs., 15 oz., and 3 lbs., 6 oz.
“We tried to stick to the A-B-C-D theme when naming them,” said Tressa. “We didn’t expect it, we were trying for just one and we were blessed with four.”
When Tressa was just ten weeks pregnant, her physician told her she was having twins, and on a subsequent visit, the doctor detected a third heartbeat. The Montalvos were then referred to Dr. Brian Kirshon, a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist with Houston Perinatal Associates (HPA) at The Woman’s Hospital of Texas.
“We couldn’t have been more surprised when Dr. Kirshon told us we were having four babies and that they were two sets of twins,” Manuel laughed. “We were trying for one little brother or sister for our two-and-a-half year old son, Memphis.”
Tressa laughed too, saying, “No fertility drugs were used. We planned the pregnancy" I guess we just succeeded a little too much!”
Their odds of delivering two sets of naturally occurring identical twins is somewhere in the range of 1-in-70 million. In the past ten years, The Woman’s Hospital of Texas has delivered more than 2,800 sets of multiples and was fully prepared for the babies’ arrival.
“Our physicians, nurses and staff have been providing care exclusively to women and infants for more than 35 years,” said hospital CEO, Linda Russell. “This is what we do every day. We have the top specialists and an integrated continuum of care to make sure families like the Montalvos are getting excellent care. We want our families to feel confident that they are in the most capable hands.”
The Montalvos will be a busy family with five boys! But, they say they’re not done yet, “We want a girl,” said Manuel with a smile.
We invite the media to join us in helping to welcome the Montalvos and their four boys at The Woman’s Hospital of Texas:
About the Woman’s Hospital of Texas
The Woman’s Hospital of Texas is an acute care hospital located near the Texas Medical Center. The hospital was established in 1976 by a group of physicians who recognized the need for a facility focused solely on the care of women and infants. In keeping with this vision, Woman’s offers a full range of women’s services, including breakthrough developments in minimally invasive surgery such as Robotic Surgery, and urogynecology. The hospital has an antepartum unit, 36 labor and delivery rooms, a medical surgical unit and 124-bed Levels II and III Neonatal Intensive Care nurseries. Since its inception, Woman’s has welcomed over 200,000 babies into the world and delivers more babies in Houston than any other hospital. Our experienced physicians specialize in high-risk deliveries, from handling preemies weighing less than 1,500 grams to offering a comprehensive Multiples Clinic for women having twins, triplets, or more. In addition, the Woman’s Hospital of Texas was twice named a top performer in quality measures by the Joint Commission, and has been designated as a Center of Excellence for Continence Care in Women by the National Association for Continence. Visit our website at www.womanshospital.com.