Russian woman gives birth to quadruplets

Moscow, Feb 27 (UNI) A Russian woman in the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East has given birth to quadruplets, including three boys and a girl, a local health spokesman said today.

The newborn babies were 'doing well' and their 32-year-old mother, Natalya Shaposhnikova, would remain in the hospital until she was well enough to return home, RIA Novosti quoted doctors, as saying.

The biggest baby, a boy, weighs 2.5 kg, while the smallest is another boy weighing 1.1 kg, almost three times less than the average newborn, the hospital said.

The quadruplets were born in Vladivostok after Kamchatka doctors refused to be involved in such a complicated delivery, as even twins are considered a risk for both the mother and newborn babies.

Vasily, the father confessed that he was 'very glad' and joked he was feeling a little 'uncertain'.

In November last year, another Russian woman, also from Kamchatka, delivered three boys and a girl, for the first time in the region's history.

Quadruplets are really rare. Unfortunately, most quadruplets are usually born prematurely, and the survival rate is quite low.

Multiple births have become more frequent, as more women take fertility drugs, which increase the risk of multiple pregnancies.

Last November, a 29-year-old Russian music teacher gave birth to five girls, 14 weeks premature, at a maternity clinic in Oxford, southern England.

UNI XC SG RAI2113