HOUSTON -- A 27-year-old woman on Sunday became the mother of the first known surviving set of octuplets, giving birth to five girls and two boys. Another child, a girl, was born on Dec. 8.
All eight were in critical condition on Sunday, with some weighing as little as 11 ounces, doctors said.Nkem Chukwu, who had taken fertility drugs, gave birth to seven children by Caesarean section about 9 a.m.
Until the first child was born nearly two weeks earlier, doctors were unsure how many other fetuses Chukwu was carrying, said Dr. Brian Kirshon, who was among three doctors who delivered the children. A sonogram showed the remaining fetuses.
The girl born Dec. 8 was 12 weeks premature. The others were born 10 weeks early, the doctors said.
The babies' weight ranges from 11 ounces to 1 pound, 11 ounces.
Chukwu was in stable condition at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Kirshon said. Immediately after delivery, the babies were taken to the adjacent Texas Children's Hospital.
"They're doing as well as could be expected," said Dr. Patti Saverick, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital. "They're hanging in there."
The children are the first for Chukwu and her husband, Ike, who are from Houston. They had long tried to have children before resorting to fertility drugs, Kirshon said. Chukwu suffered a miscarriage of triplets earlier this year while on the drugs.
"She has been rather private," the doctor said.
Chukwu entered the hospital in early October and has been confined to bed for six weeks, Kirshon said.