Historic births do not happen every day, so doctors feel lucky when they are able to witness one with their patients. This is exactly how the doctors felt after witnessing the historic birth of a 23-year-old woman.
Alexandra and Antonin Kinovas of the Czech Republic were pleasantly surprised when they found out they were having twins. The new parents are now a family of five, including their one-year-old child.
Alexandra and Antonin were overjoyed when they found out that twins ran in both of their families- and that they would be continuing the tradition!
The Kinovas were ecstatic to hear they would soon be welcoming two new family members. They made all the necessary preparations and changes in anticipation, knowing full well that expanding their immediate family from three to five people would be a dramatic shift. Imagine their horror, then, when the doctor asked them to come back for a re-diagnosis.
The family was expecting the doctor to tell them one thing but were shocked when she revealed something completely different. Another ultrasound showed that not only are the couple expecting multiple births but four babies instead of just two.
But the surprises were not over. A month after the ultrasound showed they were having quadruplets, another scan revealed they will have five babies!
Alexandra stated, “When we finally found a fifth head, I started to cry.”
There are three types of quintuplets: fraternal, identical, and a combination of both. They can also be born all male, all female, or a mix of genders. In 2008, a Polish woman gave birth to girls without the use of fertility drugs – most likely making them identical quintuplets. The first set of females in the United States were born in 2015.”
The 23-year-old mother had a one in seven million chance of conceiving five babies naturally, but she is still planning to breastfeed them all. When it came time for the babies to be born, twice the amount of doctors and midwives who would normally assist were scheduled to deliver them. In fact, almost 40 people witnessed the birth.
Dr. Alena Mechurova stated, “In our country (birth) statistics have been recorded since 1949 and there’s no mention of quintuplets. In the Czech, Republic quintuplets are born on average once every 480 years. ”
The head doctor confirmed that the delivery went smoothly and without complications. After a long journey, the family finally welcomed four baby boys and one baby girl into their lives. The boys were named Daniel, Michael, Alex, and Martin while the little girl was given the name Tereza.
The spontaneous conception of quintuplets is an event that happens extremely rarely, with records estimating it to occur only once in about 60 million births. In most cases, quintuplet births are the result of assisted reproductive techniques such as in-vitro fertilization or fertility-enhancing drugs.
Alexandra and Antonin’s lives will certainly be hectic as they take care of their newborn quintuplets. However, they will also have a large and joyful family.
