Woman gives birth to quintuplets in Shandong

A young woman gave birth to quintuplets, a daughter and four sons, on Sunday in Tai'an, East China's Shandong province, according to the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald, a local newspaper in Central China's Hunan province.

A medical worker from Tai'an Central Hospital told the newspaper on Monday the five infants were in good condition, all in neonatal intensive care units and weighed from 1.14 to 1.4 kilograms.

Li Qinwen, director of the hospital's obstetrics and gynecology center, said quintuplets are a rare phenomenon and their rate in a natural pregnancy was only one in 60 million.

Multiple pregnancies carries high risks, such as the fetus not getting sufficient nutrition and premature delivery, and it can also lead to hypertension for pregnant women, the director said.

The hospital has arranged rounds of multidisciplinary consultation to provide nutrition guidance and set up an emergency plan team for her during the pregnancy.

The mother, 24, showed symptoms of edema, insomnia, hypertension and proteinuria recently. Doctors reviewed the situation and prepared a cesarean section for the mother on Sunday.

The eldest, the daughter, was born around 9:30 am and the last at 9:53 am. Because the five newborns were premature, they are on ventilators and being closely monitored at the hospital.