Did the Derrico Family Use IVF? Karen and Deon Have Four Sets of Multiples

TLC viewers are used to seeing families with a ton of children on the network — whether it's families like the Duggars who have 19 kids, or families like the Busbys and the Waldrops, who have five or six babies all at once. However, Doubling Down with the Derricos definitely takes things up a notch. That's because Karen and Deon have 14 kids altogether, including four back-to-back sets of multiples.

Naturally, fans have wondered: Did the Derrico family use IVF?

So far, Karen has been pregnant a total of six times — and out of those six pregnancies, she's had four sets of multiples. This has included two sets of twins, a set of quintuplets, and a set of triplets.

There are: Singletons, Darian and Derrick; twins, Denver and Dallas; quintuplets, Deniko, Dariz, Deonee, Daician, and Daiten; twins, Diez and Dior; and triplets, Dawsyn, De’Aren, and Dyver. (Diez and Dior were actually part of a set of triplets, but their brother, Carter Derrico, died shortly after birth.)

"Having four sets of multiples back to back? It's like getting struck by lightning while getting struck by lightning," Deon said during the very first episode of Doubling Down with the Derricos. "Many parents know with just one child, two children, it's a job. But when you have soon-to-be 14, it's a job."

"We have our good days and our bad days," Karen said. "There's always enough love."

As it turns out, twins and triplets tend to run in both Deon's and Karen's families. "We both have multiples on both sides of our family," Deon explained. "But we have the most multiples that anyone has ever heard of."

So, did Deon and Karen turn to IVF in order to conceive all these sets of multiples? Or are they some sort of multiples-making machines without any fertility treatments whatsoever? This question and more was answered during the first episode of Doubling Down with the Derricos.

"After our oldest, I had two miscarriages," Karen explained. "And so once I became pregnant, the doctor started me on progesterone to sustain my pregnancy. But all of our children were naturally conceived — not one round of IVF."

Karen later added, "Because I didn't go through IVF, our quintuplets are considered a medical miracle."

"There has to be some type of Guinness Book of World Record here — there has to be," Deon declared.

During the first episode of the Derricos' new series, Karen was still pregnant and on bed rest with her youngest set of triplets. A teaser for the second episode showed Karen having contractions in the hospital during her second trimester — and the imminent premature delivery of the triplets.

Will Karen and the babies face medical complications before, during, and after the triplets are welcomed? Be sure to catch Doubling Down with the Derricos at 10 p.m. (ET) Tuesdays on TLC to follow along with their journey.