NEW DELHI: A 30-something lady in India's troubled Kashmir state has achieved the rare feat of giving birth to quintuplets in a maternity hospital in the Valley, stretching its facilities to the limit. Doctors and nurses at the Lal Ded hospital in Srinagar were at their wits end to ensure everything went on smoothly for the 32-year-old woman, Afroza of Larkipora village. She gave birth to three boys and two girls following a caesarian operation conducted by doctors, who gave her a spinal anesthesia. According to Dr Abdul Hamid, who headed of the team of Anesthesiologists and several skilled specialists worked in tandem and successfully managed the multiple births, although it was a first in their professional careers. “All five babies are healthy and weighing about two kilograms. Only one baby has some minor complication,” Dr Hamid said. The fifth baby, the tiniest, is faced with some weight-related challenges as it is a sub-two kilo baby. According to one doctor who was in the team, the fifth baby was a surprise package, as the radiologist who diagnosed Afroza had picked only four infants. The baby faces respiratory stress and is being shifted to be put on ventilator in a super-speciality hospital. According to the LD Hospital, where the woman gave birth to the quintuplets, the patient was operated by a team headed by Dr Rizwana. The caesarian section lasted for 90 long minutes, the hospital's superintendent said. Other doctors on the team included Anesthesiologists, Dr Abdul Hamid and Dr Ashfaq Ahmad Wani and operating surgeon Dr Mushtaq Mattoo. Two consultants — Dr Shahnaz and Dr Umeed – were also in the team.. Babies of multiple birth – four and more – most often don't survive and Afroza's feat of giving birth to five healthy infants is extremely rare in India. In the norther Indian state, where conflict, terrorism and death are perhaps the only journalistic exports, a large number of photographers and media persons made a beeline for the neo-natal care unit ward where mother and babies are recuperating. This is Afroza's second delivery. She gave birth to a boy a few years ago in her first and has had several miscarriages between then and now.
