Four girls and two boys arrive 14 weeks early

London: A mother has defied huge odds by giving birth to the first sextuplets in England for nearly quarter of a century.

Surrounded by a team of doctors and nurses, the 31-year-old woman gave birth to four girls and two boys, 14 weeks early.

The tiniest of the babies, born last Friday at 11.05pm, weighed under 1 pound and 5 ounces and the biggest 1 pound and 15 ounces.

Last night the precious new arrivals were under the care of experts in the neonatal intensive care unit of Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital.

Live births of such a high number of babies are incredibly rare and sextuplets is estimated to occur in just one in every 4.5 million pregnancies.

Staff in the hospital said they felt "privileged" to have played a part in the birth, which had been the subject of meticulous planning over several weeks. There were different teams of medical staff to look after the mother and each of her babies.

Critical weeks ahead

Consultant neonatologist Dr Kenny McCormick, said: "The next few days and weeks will be critical. Babies that are born this early need a lot of specialist care. They are receiving round-the- clock intensive care and specialist nursing at the moment and their condition is constantly monitored."