A 35-year-old woman from Canada, who was transferred to Montana because of a shortage of neonatal beds there, gave birth to rare identical quadruplets. The odds of this occurring is one in 13 million.

Officials at a Great Falls hospital told Associated Press Thursday that Karen Jepp of Calgary, Alberta, delivered Autumn, Brooke, Calissa and Dahlia by Caesarian section Sunday afternoon at Benefis Healthcare.

The four girls, who were born about two months early and conceived without fertility drugs, were breathing without ventilators and listed in good condition Thursday. According to the family blog, the babies ranged in size from between 2.6 pounds and 2.15 pounds.

Jepp and her husband, J.P., who also have a 2-year-old son, Simon, are said to be elated about the birth. On Thursday, two of the baby girls were to be transferred to a Calgary hospital while the other two could be moved Friday if their conditions remain favourable.

The girls are expected to remain under hospital care for four to six weeks as they were born premature.

According to various reports, there are less than 50 sets of identical quadruplets worldwide and the last reported set was born in April 2006 to a 26-year-old Indian woman.