Next few days crucial as sextuplets fight for their lives
The first mother to give birth to sextuplets in England for 25 years is "praying for a small miracle" as her babies fight for their lives
Vicky Lamb defied odds of 4.5 million to one by having four girls and two boys 14 weeks early. They are now in a critical condition in intensive care.
The 31-year-old gave birth by Caesarean section at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford last Friday at 11.05pm. The tiniest of the babies weighed 1lb 5oz, the biggest 1lb 15oz.
Doctors at the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit are monitoring their progress and Mrs Lamb and husband Andy remained by their side today.
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."
Mrs Lamb, of Oxford, already has a five-year-old daughter, Gracie, with her husband, a 31-year-old health and safety officer. Today it emerged she was taking fertility drugs to help her conceive.
A family friend told the Standard: "She was taking Clomid [a drug used to induce ovulation]. She took that when Gracie was conceived as well. The babies went straight into intensive care as soon as they were born.
"They're just incredibly grateful to the staff at the John Radcliffe for their help."
In an interview with GMTV, publicist Max Clifford, representing the family, said Mrs Lamb was "hoping and praying that everything is going to be okay — but they realise they are praying for a small miracle".
Staff at the hospital said they felt "privileged" to have played a part in the birth, which was meticulously planned, with different medical teams to look after Mrs Lamb and each baby.
Live births of such a high number of babies are increasingly rare and sexttuplets are estimated to occur in just one in every 4.5 million pregnancies.
Only a handful of sextuplets have ever been born alive in the UK.
The Walton sisters were the world's first surviving all-girl sextuplets, born in Liverpool to Graham and Janet Walton in 1983. Staff at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals said they felt "privileged" to have played a part in the births, which had been carefully planned.
There were different teams of medical staff at the birth to look after the Mrs Lamb and each of her babies.
