Czech mother, 23, gives birth to the country's first naturally conceived quintuplets and doctors say they have a '95% chance of growing up healthy'
- Alexandra Kinova, 23, gave birth to four boys and a girl today
- Doctors in Prague said the birth went 'without any complications'
- She gave birth by Caesarean section and they are now in intensive care
- They are the first set of quins to be born in the country
By BECKY EVANS
PUBLISHED: 12:57 GMT, 2 June 2013 | UPDATED: 16:33 GMT, 2 June 2013
A Czech woman has given birth to healthy quintuplets today - the first to be born in her country. Alexandra Kinova, 23, gave birth by Caesarean section to four sons and a daughter, officials at Prague's Institute for the Care of Mother and Child said. Doctors said the mother and her five babies have been placed in an intensive care unit.
Alexandra Kinova, 23, gave birth to four sons and a daughter by Caesarean section today
The final push: Medical staff examine 23-year-old Alexandra prior to her Caesarian section at the Podoli hospital in Prague, Czech Republic
Anticipation: Ms Kinova is attended by the hospital's surgeons during her Caesarean
Baby joy: Doctors care for one of the newborns after Ms Kinova gave birth to four boys and one girl
The father was present at the birth. Ms Kinova already has one son and he helped choose the names of his five new siblings. The four boys are called Deniel, Michael, Alex and Martin and the girl is called Terezka.
The family did not know what the sex of the all the babies were until they were born because two were hidden in the scan. Zbynek Stranak, chief doctor at the neonatal section of the institute said the birth took place 'without any complications.'
Special delivery: The four boys are called Deniel, Michael, Alex and Martin and the girl is called Terezka
Five of a kind: The babies are the first naturally conceived quintuplets to be born in Prague
Tender loving care: The quintuplets and their mother have been placed in an intensive care unit, although all are said to be doing well
Bundle of joy: A nurse cares for one of the newborns. Ms Kinova has been told her children have a 95 per cent chance of growing up healthy
He said the babies have a 95-percent chance to grow up healthy. Ms Kinova, who is from Milovice, north east of Prague, beat staggering odds to conceive the quins without using IVF. The mother-of-six did not realise she was carrying five babies until last month.
Ms Kinova's birth went 'without complication' and she and her brood are in intensive care
At first doctors said she was having twins but in March staff said she was actually pregnant with four children. However, it was not until the following month that she finally discovered she was having quintuplets. Ms Kinova told Czech news site denik.czthis month that she was in shock when she was told the news.She said: 'When we finally found a fifth head, I started to cry.' The odds of conceiving quins naturally is one is several million, according to experts. The mother said both she and her partner have a family history of twins. She said aside from four months of morning sickness, she has had few complications in the pregnancy.
Ms Kinova said she has been able to sleep on her side and has not had any problems with her breathing. And she also plans to breastfeed all five babies, as she did with her eldest son. She told denik: 'The first child I nursed for almost a year and a half and I want to breastfeed now. 'While I know that some will be on artificial nutrition.'Ms Kinova said despite the best efforts of the doctors they still do not know the sex of all the babies.
She said: 'I very much look forward to seeing how they will look. It's a great charm, but we cannot see anything properly - only a head or legs.'The hospital planned to double the number of doctors and midwives for her Caesarean. They said they have administered drugs to help speed up the development of the babies' lungs.
