HOUSTON, Dec. 20 -- A 27-year-old Houston area woman has given birth to the first known surviving set of eight babies at St. Luke's Hospital in Houston. Nigerian national Nkem Chukwu gave birth to seven of the babies, five girls and two boys, (Sunday) at 9 a.m. local time.
The first child, a girl, was born on Dec. 8. The babies, weighing between 11 ounces and 1 pound 11 ounces, are listed in critical condition. Chukwu, who was six and a half months pregnant, has been hospitalized for the past two and a half months. One of the three doctors who delivered the babies, Dr. Brian Kirshon, said the girl born Dec. 8 was 12 weeks premature and was delivered naturally. The other seven babies were born at 30 weeks, or 10 weeks early and were delivered through Cesarean section. The babies have been taken to Texas Children's Hospital. The father, Ike Chukwu, is a respiratory therapist at a Houston Hospital. Nkem took fertility drugs after losing triplets in an earlier pregnancy. Sean Tipton, spokesperson for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, said 'we'd like to wish the family the best, obviously, but I'd encourage everyone to have a little restraint, and not treat this as any kind of holiday season medical miracle.' Tipton said the goal of infertility therapy is one child, and that children born in multiple births face the risk of developmental and neurological problems. Doctors believe all babies have a chance to survive. ---
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