A woman has given birth to eight babies, only the second time in history octuplets have survived more than a few hours.
The mother, who was not identified, gave birth to six boys and two girls weighing between 1.8 pounds and 3.4 pounds, doctors at Kaiser Permanante hospital in Bellflower said.
The hospital had scheduled a Caesarean section for seven babies, but doctors were surprised by the eighth.
The mother checked into the hospital in her 23rd week of pregnancy and gave birth seven weeks later. All eight babies will probably remain in the hospital for at least two months and the mother should be released in a week, a spokeswoman said.
The world's first live octuplets were born in March 1967 in Mexico City, but all the babies died within 14 hours.
The United States' first live octuplets were born in Houston in December 1998. They were three months premature and their weights at birth ranged from 11oz to 1lb 11oz. The tiniest died of heart and lung failure a week after being born. The survivors — girls Ebuka, Gorom, Chidi, Chima and Echerem, and their brothers Ikem and Jioke — turned 10 in December.
Forty-six hospital staff and four delivery rooms were used for the latest births. As each baby was born, staff rushed it into another room and waited for the next. But despite weeks of preparation, doctors did not expect the eighth child.
"It is quite easy to miss a baby when you're anticipating seven babies," said Dr Harold Henry, chief of maternal and foetal medicine at the hospital. "Ultrasound doesn't show you everything."
Doctors said they repeatedly conducted practice sessions on the deliveries and were well prepared. Dr Gupta said the woman was given spinal anaesthesia and could hear the babies as they came out.
"When the first baby came out, he was crying and kicking," Dr Gupta said. "That eased the tension in the operating room because the first one came out healthy."
Dr Richard Paulson, director of the fertility program at the University of Southern California, said octuplets born prematurely could face serious health risks, including breathing problems and neurological damage. The mother also has an increased risk of haemorrhage, Paulson said.
"It's a risky decision to try to have all eight babies," he said.
"I would not recommend it under any circumstances, but I respect a parent's decision."
For people who use fertility drugs, the vast majority of births — 80 per cent — are single babies. Among multiple births, the most common are twins.
Dr Paulson said the latest births likely resulted from the use of fertility drugs and not in vitro fertilisation.
"When you hear about someone having octuplets, it's almost always the case that they took fertility medications and not IVF," he said.
PA