They knew it wouldn't be easy - having one new born is already exhausting enough without adding two more to the equation.

The journey got a whole lot harder when an ultrasound at 23 weeks revealed one of their daughters Evie had Tetrology of Fallot, a congenital heart disease that results in low oxygen of the blood.

Her other two identical sisters Poppy and Charli were perfectly healthy.

At five-and-a-half months Evie had open heart surgery to repair her TOF, after which she developed an oral aversion post-surgery and was nasogastric fed until she was 13 months old.

Ms Latta, a nurse at Warrnambool Base Hospital, said she had never heard of congenital heart disease before Evie was diagnosed.

"When we found out were were having triplets I cried happy tears and I was also shocked, I thought 'Oh my goodness how are we going to do it'," she said.

"It was at the 12 week ultrasound when they found out there was an abnormality there, we weren't sure the extent of it until 23 weeks when they diagnosed Evie's condition.

"They said they wouldn't know the extent of her condition until she was born, it was quite overwhelming not knowing what was going to happen.

"I'm a nurse too so I had a basic understanding of the anatomy of the heart but I didn't know much about congenital heart defects. I think I didn't learn fully until her surgery, you don't really know until you're living it."

Once they returned home they had to take additional care of Evie and her feeding tube, making sure she and her siblings didn't accidentally pull on it.

"The time of Evie's surgery was a traumatic time in our lives, one we will never forget," she said.

"It hasn't been until recently that she has overcome the effects from her surgery almost 10 months later.

"It involved regularly feeding her, and she would vomit every single time. It was horrible for her and we were really confined to the house because we didn't want to take her too far and for her to get sick, carrying her equipment was a task in itself.

"The other two needed our attention as well, it was exhausting and overwhelming some days. I look back now that she is well and think, how did I actually get through all that?"

Despite having surgery, Evie will need lifelong cardiology appointments and potentially further surgery.

February is International Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Month and Ms Latta said they couldn't have gone through what they had without the support of HeartKids and a local group of parents.

"Evie will need lifelong observation from cardiologists and might need a valve replacement down the track," Ms Lotta said.

"CHD is actually more common than you would think, eight babies every day are born with CHD in Australia and four die each week from it.

"We've had overwhelming support from HeartKids as well as a local Warrnambool group with parents who have kids with CHD. It really helped, you think you're the only one going through it so to know there are other people around who have gone through similar experiences makes it a little bit easier."

CHD is the leading cause of death and hospitalisation in infants in Australia.

There is no cure for CHD, and children born with heart defects face unique challenges for the rest of their lives.

For many, this includes ongoing medical treatment and repeated heart surgeries. Parents with a child or children with CHD are impacted by a range of mental health problems including, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression and adjustment problems.

Ms Latta said it was important to share their journey to help other parents who may be going through a similar experience.

"I was always really open about our journey because I wanted people to understand it and to now that if they had a similar experience that they were not alone," she said.

"Being a nurse too it's really my passion.

"People need to know there's the support out there if they need and to reach out if they need support."

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