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A Southern California couple welcomed a rare set of heavy mixed triplets last month, in a birth that hospital officials are calling one of the most notable deliveries they’ve seen. The babies were born so large, combined, that they came just a few ounces short of a Guinness World Record.
The Birth of California’s Heavy Mixed Triplets
Nyla Craft and Marco Bernal welcomed their heavy mixed triplets — three boys named Elio, Elias, and Enzo — on August 18 at Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center in South Los Angeles. The date held special meaning for the family: it was also Marco’s own birthday.
What makes this California birth stand out isn’t just the timing. It’s the combination of factors that made it medically remarkable. The triplets were conceived naturally, without fertility treatments, which is unusual for a triplet pregnancy. They were also carried to full term with no complications, a rare outcome for any multiple birth.
Why They’re Called “Mixed” Triplets
The term “mixed triplets” refers to the unique genetic makeup of the three boys. Two of the brothers, doctors confirmed, are identical, formed when a single fertilized egg split into two. The third brother is fraternal, developing from a separate egg. This combination — two identical siblings plus one fraternal sibling — is what defines mixed triplets, and it’s considered a rare configuration among multiple births.
Just Shy of a World Record
The heavy mixed triplets born in California weighed a combined 19.3 pounds at birth, with each boy weighing more than six pounds individually. That total came just a few ounces short of the Guinness World Record for heaviest triplets born alive.
Dr. Rohit Passi, chief of neonatology at the hospital, described the delivery as a “remarkably healthy start” for a triplet birth. More than a dozen doctors and nurses across multiple specialties were involved in safely delivering the three babies and caring for their mother throughout the process.
A Growing Family of Seven
Elio, Elias, and Enzo join two older siblings, making Craft and Bernal parents to five children under the age of five. Speaking about the moment she heard all three babies cry for the first time, Craft described a wave of relief and joy as each birth confirmed her sons were healthy.
Why Heavy Mixed Triplets Births Are So Rare
According to medical experts, triplets occur when either three separate eggs are fertilized during ovulation, or when a single fertilized egg splits into multiple embryos. Spontaneous triplet pregnancies — conceived without fertility assistance — are especially uncommon, and pregnancies involving multiples are automatically classified as high-risk due to the added strain on the mother’s body.
The case of California’s heavy mixed triplets is notable precisely because it defied several of these risk factors at once: natural conception, full-term delivery, no complications, and a combined birth weight nearing record territory.