History Main / SurpriseMultipleBirth

* In "WesternAnimation/BabarKingOfTheElephants": Babar knew that he and Celest are expecting a baby, but to his surprise and happiness, became the proud father of triplets: Pom, Flora, and Alexander.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/EveryDogsGuideToThePlayground Every Dog's Guide to the Playground]]'' ends with a very pregnant Honey going into labor, causing her husband Bernard to faint. The family dog, Wally, then packs everyone into a child's wagon and wheels them to a hospital. There, a waiting Bernard is surprised when he receives his wailing children, ''all 32 of them'', fresh from the delivery room.

* In ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf - Animation/MoonCastleTheSpaceAdventure'', Wolnie spends most of the film pregnant. Near the end, when she gives birth, Wolffy helps her deliver the baby and then notices there are more than one, counting to four on his hand and screaming "How is this possible?!".

-->'''Manjula:''' Oh, my sweet husband, say hello to your firstborn child.
-->'''Apu:''' You shall be the jewel of our lives.
-->'''Dr. Hibbert:''' Aww. Now say hello to your other seven children! [opens doctor's coat to reveal more babies]
-->'''Apu:''' My...''whaaa?!''

* A [[https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/e9i0eo/father_passes_out_when_he_meets_his_triplets_for/ famous photo]] from 1946 shows a father having passed out after seeing his triplets for the first time.

* In ''{{ComicBook/Fables}}'' Snow gives birth to an entire litter, seeing as the father is TheBigBadWolf. She's quite distressed to have it happen six times in quick succession after a 42-hour labor.

[[caption-width-right:350:Three for the price of one.[[note]]Photograph by Keystone-France[[/note]]]]

* In ''Literature/LittleWomen'', after Meg gives birth to her twins, they surprise John by making him close his eyes and then put two babies in his arms. The trope is more understandable in this case given that this is 1868 and sonograms don't exist yet.

* In the finale of ''Series/{{Friends}}'', Chandler and Monica discover that Erica, the woman whose child they are set to adopt, has actually had twins. Erica notes that twins [[HereditaryTwinhood run in her family]].

* Happens on occasion on ''Series/CallTheMidwife,'' [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in that the show is set in 1950's and 1960's London, and the most advanced piece of equipment the midwives have for knowing what's going on inside the womb is a pinard, used to detect a heartbeat. In one of her early episodes, Ms. Higgins, Dr. Turner's acerbic new secretary, congratulates an expectant twin mother and comments that it's lucky she knows she's expecting twins, as doctors generally fail to diagnose it.

-->'''Apu:''' My... whaaa?!

* ''Fanfic/EyesOnMe'': In ''Happily Ever After'', Garnet is set to adopt a baby from [[TeenPregnancy a fourteen-year-old]] transmasculine person called Malachite. Up until Malachite gives birth in Chapter 5, pretty much everyone (including Malachite's grandfather Van) is convinced that they're only expecting one baby. When Malachite finally does goes in labor, however, Van is shocked to find that they've actually had [[UntoUsASonAndDaughterAreBorn twins]]. Everyone else is taken aback when Garnet informs them of the news.

* Happens on occasion on ''Series/CallTheMidwife,'' [[JustifiedTrop justified]] in that the show is set in 1950's and 1960's London, and the most advanced piece of equipment the midwives have for knowing what's going on inside the womb is a pinard, used to detect a heartbeat. In one of her early episodes, Ms. Higgins, Dr. Turner's acerbic new secretary, congratulates an expectant twin mother and comments that it's lucky she knows she's expecting twins, as doctors generally fail to diagnose it.