Octuplets Born in California

Monday, January 26, 2009

A woman has given birth to eight babies at a local hospital just south of Los Angeles. This is only the second time ever that a set of octuplets have been born alive.Dr. Karen Maples told TV station KCAL that the babies were born Monday at Kaiser Permanante and were "doing quite well."The AP reports the that the mother, who asked not to be identified, gave birth to six girls and two boys weighing between 1.8 pounds and 3.4 pounds this morning starting at 10:43 AM. Two of the preemies are on a respirator. Maples said that doctors were hopeful the babies would all survive, but the first 72 hours are always the most critical time. "So we'll have to just pay attention for the next few days," she said. Dr. Harold Henry told KCAL that "they were all screaming and kicking around very vigorously." The hospital tells us that the babies -- delivered by Caesarian section -- are being called baby A - H until they are named by their parents.
The first live-born octuplets, six girls and two boys, were born in Houston in 1998. One of the girls died after a week.