A 21-year-old woman rushed to hospital for what doctors thought was an inflamed appendix was astonished to be told she was actually four months pregnant with triplets.

Polina, from Rostov-on-Don, southern Russia, who gave birth on 13th May, had gone in for a check-up after suffering stomach pains.

Doctors told her she had suspected appendicitis and rushed her for an ultrasound.

But when medics looked at her results they were flabbergasted to find she was pregnant.

At first, they told Polina she was expecting one baby girl and later said they had detected twins.

But when medics reviewed new scans they found she was actually pregnant with three boys.

Polina told local media: “The doctor announced that there was one foetus — a girl. And I went home to my husband and told him.

“When I went for another ultrasound, it turned out that I wasn’t having a girl at all, but two boys — twins.

“I went home again and told all my relatives.

“I was sent to a perinatal centre for consultation. They did another ultrasound and now they said I was having three boys.”

The triplets should not have come as a huge surprise as Polina is also a twin as well as two of her siblings.

Polina added: “And my great-grandmother had triplets. So, instead of one girl or two boys, I ended up with three boys!”

In heartwarming photos taken after Polina gave birth by C-section, hospital staff can be seen cuddling her just-born sons Miron, Makar and Matvey.

A spokesperson for the 20-strong medical team said: “We are very pleased that everything went according to our planned scenario, safely, and all four lives — the brothers and their mother — are in good order.”