Healthy quintuplets born to Mumbai couple

Sabeera Khan, a 24-year-old woman who had continued with the delivery against all odds is ecstatic. Perhaps her only regret is that all the babies are boys. "I am very happy but would have been happier if one of them was a girl," Sabeera said.

Dr Suchitra Pandit, Head of Gynaecologist department at the hospital, who operated upon Sabira, disclosed that it was the first set of male quintuplets to have survived in India. In most cases a few kids go on to live, while others die within hours of the delivery.

"The set was conceived naturally. This, apart from being the first survivor set in India, is the eleventh all-male set and the seventeenth set of natural conception in the world," said Pandit.

Initial reservations by the hospital
The hospital had some reservations about taking the case since Sabeera was referred to them by another doctor. Dr Vinay Joshi, consultant pediatrician, stated that it was a major decision which required a lot of preparations, both in terms of equipment and mental make-up.

"When Sabira was referred to us on Monday, we did not know what to do. She was in her 28th week of pregnancy and had a history of a leak (passing water). Plus, one of the babies had less fluid surrounding him. Sabira also had a slightly higher pulse rate," said Dr Pandit.

The preparations for the delivery
Fearing some complications related to the delivery, the doctors were on their toes. Dr Pandit said, "We had four mock drills, involving neo-natal, anaesthesia, and nursing over the past few days to ensure a smooth Caesarean section."

She added, "We had everything such as five sets of equipment and clamp cords. The first and the third baby came out crying."

Although the doctors would have preferred a normal delivery, they had to opt for a pre-mature procedure because Sabeera had some vaginal discharge, pointing towards a leakage in one of the sacks that guarded the baby.

“Since we were prepared we went ahead with the surgery," said Pandit.

The surgery lasted an hour and the babies were born within a space of three minutes. The first child was born at 12:36 p.m. and the fifth at 12:39 p.m.

The infants weigh an average of 800 grams, and all five boys are under observation with two on ventilator and the remaining in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

This is not Sabeera’s first deliver, as the couple have another baby boy- their first born. "Our first son is 10 months old now. It is only by God's grace that I've got five more sons in the month of Ramzan, and on a Friday," said Ubaid Khan, the elated father.