On Tuesday, an Egyptian woman gave birth to quintuplets in a case that captivated the nation's attention. The 23-year-old mother gave birth via a C-section performed in a private medical center located in Asyut governorate's Dayrout city.
Speaking to local media outlets, Dr. Walid Abdul Badi'i Hasanein, a lead OB-GYN at the center, confirmed the births, saying:
"The center admitted a women showing symptoms of labor while in the 8th month of her pregnancy. She was referred for an immediate cesarian procedure."
Hasanein added that the case is considered very rare in the region. He also confirmed that the infants - four girls and a boy - underwent initial checkups by doctors and were found to be in good health, each weighing between 1.8 and 2 kilograms.
The doctor explained that this was the woman's second pregnancy, adding that the mother was taking ovulation induction medication before she conceived.
A team of medics performed the critical delivery surgery and they included a pediatrician, anesthesiologist, and a group of nurses.
Though such cases are rare when they occur in one country, they seem less shocking when looking at them regionally
In Egypt, specifically, quintuplets had been reported before. A case in 2017 took place also in Asyut governorate, where a mother gave birth to five babies who needed to be placed in incubators. Before that, AP reported the story of a 30-year-old woman who had healthy quintuplets in Egypt in 2000.
Back in August, a Saudi woman gave birth to quintuplets at a hospital located in the kingdom's Al-Ahsa governorate. The children were delivered through a cesarean procedure conducted at the city's Maternity and Children Hospital. During the operation, the woman gave birth to three boys and two girls who weigh between 0.9 and 1.1 kilograms each. A medical team made up of 13 maternity specialists and 45 medical staff helped with the delivery.
Months before the birth of the Saudi quintuplets was reported, an Iraqi woman gave birth to septuplets in the country's Diyali governorate. The news turned tragic soon after because even though the seven babies were born in good health, only one of them went on to survive.
In 2018, a mother gave birth to sextuplets in Lebanon's Saint George University Hospital. The complex birth procedure was handled by a large team of doctors who ensured it went smoothly. The babies' mother and father were already parents to four kids when they got the news of the mother's pregnancy.