Ethiopian woman’s joy at rare quintuplets after 12 years trying for a baby

A woman has given birth to rare quintuplets in Ethiopia’s Harari Regional state after 12 years of trying for a baby. Bedriya Adem said she and her husband were “overjoyed” to be “blessed with five children at once”. The 35-year-old delivered four boys and a girl, all of whom are in “full health”, at the Hiwot Fana Specialised Hospital, the hospital said.

“I cannot express my happiness in words,” she told the BBC, recalling how she was “filled with depression and pain” until her prayers were answered. Hospital medical director Dr Mohammed Nur Abdulahi said the mother and babies remained under medical care at the hospital. The babies weighed between 1.3 and 1.4kg (3lb).

He told the BBC that newborns who weigh more than a kilogram have a high chance of survival and healthy growth. The doctor told the BBC that Bedriya had conceived naturally, without the aid of in vitro fertilisation (IVF), which the hospital does not offer. IVF can increase the chance of multiple births if more than one embryo can be transferred.

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The chance of conceiving quintuplets naturally is about one in 55 million. The doctor said the birth had been through Caesarean on Tuesday evening.

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