Madhya Pradesh woman gives birth to sextuplets, 2 babies die soon after

A 23-year-old woman on Saturday gave birth to sextuplets in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district, though two of the newborns died shortly after, a doctor said.

Four boys and two girls were born prematurely and underweight to Badoda resident Murti Mali over a span of 35 minutes, with the two girls weighing just 390 grams and 450 grams, said Sheopur District Hospital Civil Surgeon Dr RB Goyal.

"They were born in the 28th week of pregnancy. The two girls, who were extremely underweight, died a little while later. The four boys weigh between 615 grams and 790 grams. They are being treated at the Sick Newborn Care Unit here," he said.

Goyal said the woman found out she was going to give birth to sextuplets only after a sonography was conducted on Monday morning.

Talking to PTI, Bhopal's leading gynaecologist Dr Meeta Agrawal said this was a rare case as "chances for multiple gestations to happen spontaneously is very rare"

"Infertility treatment may increase the chances of multiple pregnancies. This is extremely rare. More so, if she has not taken any (fertility) treatment," Agrawal said.