But we only expected seven – 'amazing' birth of octuplets

AN AMERICAN woman has given birth to eight babies – only the second time in history that octuplets have survived for more than a few hours.

The six boys and two girls, who were nine weeks premature, were delivered at the Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Centre in Los Angeles on Monday.

Three of the newborns were put on ventilators but last night doctors said they were all stable and breathing on their own.

A spokeswoman at the hospital called the deliveries – which took place in the space of five minutes – "truly amazing".

The siblings weighed between 1lb 8oz and 3lb 4oz and were delivered by Caesarean section.

Medical staff and the babies' parents had been expecting seven babies, and the eighth came as a surprise.

Asked about the moment when the extra child was found, Dr Karen Maples said: "That was a tremendous surprise. The baby seemed to be quite high in the uterus, possibly behind another baby, but we were just like 'there's one more baby here, are you ready?' And the team was."

The mother, whose identity has not been revealed, has asked that limited information be released about the births.

It is understood she checked in to the hospital 23 weeks into her pregnancy and gave birth seven weeks later.

The babies are expected to be in incubators for at least six weeks and the mother is planning to breast-feed them all, hospital officials said.

"She is a very strong woman, so she probably will be able to handle all eight babies," said Dr Mandhir Gupta.

He added that the mother was "doing very, very well" and was excited at being able to deliver the babies safely.

It was unclear yesterday whether the mother had received fertility drugs.

Dr Harold Henry, chief of maternal and foetal medicine, said ultrasound technology did not always accurately predict the number of babies in the womb.

"It is quite easy to miss a baby when you're anticipating seven. Ultrasound doesn't show you everything."

The birth of the octuplets was a tricky logistical operation for the hospital and Dr Henry was part of a birthing team that consisted of 46 doctors, nurses and assistants. Leaving nothing to chance, they repeatedly conducted practice sessions.

All of the babies were dubbed with the letters A to H. The smallest, a boy named Baby E, weighed just 1lb 8oz but was described by doctors as "very feisty".

The world's first recorded live octuplets were born in 1967 in Mexico. All died within hours.

In 1998, octuplets were born in Houston, Texas. The smallest died a week after the birth but the seven others celebrated their tenth birthday in December.

Their Nigerian-born parents, Nkem Chukwu and Iyke Louis Udobi, gave their best wishes to the parents involved in the latest multiple birth.

"It's a blessing, truly a blessing. We'll keep praying for them," said Ms Chukwu.

Last night Dr Richard Paulson, director of the fertility programme at the University of Southern California, said the latest births were likely to be the result of fertility drug use.

He added that, despite the relative good health of the newborns, they were still not out of the woods and could face serious health risks such as breathing problems and brain damage.

Dr Paulson said: "It's a risky decision to try to have all eight babies. I would not recommend it under any circumstances, but I respect a parent's decision."

The rate of multiple births has risen in the past few decades, with advances in fertility treatment believed to be a factor.