Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash

A woman has given birth to sextuplets in Strasbourg in France in what is a first for the country in over 30 years.

It took just four minutes for the delivery that is also only the second time a woman in the country has given birth to six babies at the same time.

The mother, who has not been named, gave birth to five girls and one boy last Thursday 14th May.

They were born at the CHU Hautepierre hospital in the eastern French city of Strasbourg in the Bas-Rhin department, although news of the births has only just been revealed.

The newborns, five girls and one boy, were born by caesarean after 24 weeks and 6 days. They were born in the space of a few minutes, between 9:04pm and 9:08pm. The babies weigh between 630 and 730 grammes.

The babies are expected to spend months in hospital as pregnancies are only deemed viable after 22 weeks which makes these little ones quite premature. The birth was closely followed by a medical team of about 30 people, according to local media.

An unnamed medical source at the hospital was quoted in local media as saying: “We are very careful, it is a situation which requires all the technical expertise of the high-performance team at Hautepierre hospital.”

They added: “After the COVID-19 period, these teams who suffered so much were able to mobilise.”

The Hautepierre University Hospital is due to give an update on the births today (Monday 18th May).

The only other birth of this type on record in recent history in France took place on 14th January 1989, at the Port-Royal maternity hospital in Paris. Marie-Claude Adam gave birth to Cedric, Gaelle, Coralie, Doriane, Kevin and Melanie.

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