Ellen Campbell, has defied the odds once again after giving birth to triplets, just two years after she and her husband James welcomed a set of twins at the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald.
Little Mabel, Sadie and Lily Campbell made their early entrance into the world at 33 weeks on 30 October 2025. The set of triplets spent two weeks receiving expert care and support in the Neonatal Unit in the Ulster Hospital and are now settling into their family home.
The remarkable arrival of the girls comes after Ellen and James Campbell celebrated the arrival of Finley and Malachy, who were born on NHS 75 Day, 5 July 2023. Both Finley and Malachy were born prematurely and they too spent time in the Neonatal Unit in the Ulster Hospital.
The 30 October was an incredible day in the Ulster Hospital Maternity Unit, not only with the triplets being born, but another three sets of twins were welcomed into the world! 16 babies were born in total that day, making it one of the busiest on record.
Ellen has shared her family’s story to mark World Prematurity Day on 17 November. This day helps to raise awareness of the challenges faced by families whose babies are born early and to celebrate the dedication of Neonatal Teams across the world.
Now proud parents of five children all under the age of two, Ellen said with a smile, “After Finley and Malachy were born, we thought we would have one more child. I booked an early scan and we were a bit shocked when the Midwife said there was three babies not just one! James went very quiet in the corner. I think we were both quite shocked to learn we were having triplets! It still does not feel real.
“During the car journey home we were still in disbelief. At that point we had not even realised that we would have five children all under two years of age!
“We are very blessed that we have two boys and three girls now. Even that in itself feels so unique to have twin boys and triplet girls. Sadie and Lily are identical twins and then little Mabel.”
Having spent time in the Neonatal Unit before, Ellen said it felt familiar but comforting to return, “It felt surreal being back, but this time we were a lot more prepared. We knew we would likely have another neonatal journey because the girls would come early, but so many of the same staff are still here. It is very reassuring knowing that our girls are in such great hands means everything to us.
“The staff have been absolutely brilliant, they are just like part of our family. They look after our girls 24/7 and could not do more to make us feel at home here. The girls have really flourished and thrived over the past two weeks and that is all down to the staff in the Unit.”
Ellen explained how she distinguishes each of the triplets, “To me, Mabel looks very different to her sisters and at the moment Sadie is a bit bigger than Lily, which helps tell them apart. But I think as Lily catches up, it is going to get a bit more tricky!
“They still have their hospital ID bands on at the moment to help us. A lot of people have said to put some nail polish, a different colour on each toe, so we can tell them apart! But I think we will have to keep them labelled until we can definitely find some way of telling who is who!
Proud Dad James, added, “This is a new normal for us, we are a good team and we have great support from our family. We are looking forward to getting home and being together.”
Neonatal Unit Sister, Stefanie Minnis commented, “It has been lovely to have cared for Mabel, Sadie and Lily in the unit. From being born at 33 weeks to be going home after a short stay in the unit is just amazing. The girls have done incredibly well and we are so proud of them and of the family.
“Our focus right from the beginning is teamwork and family integrated care. We aim right from the get-go to involve parents with their babies and we work alongside them as a team to get them ready for home.
“The girls have all had a lovely smooth journey within the Unit and it is so special that they are now getting home to be with the rest of their lovely family. We all just want to put them in our own pockets and take them home, they are sweet little girls. We will miss the daily cuddles!”
Beaming with pride, Ellen said, “We are over the moon. We have nearly got a whole football team now! We are looking forward to being home, all seven of us together. It will be pure relief to have the girls home. The fact that they are going home when they should even be in the Unit for another five weeks is phenomenal. We are very excited!”
Mum Ellen with Triplets