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Pennsylvania mom delivers sextuplets

A woman gave birth to sextuplets Monday morning, and both the mother and babies were doing well, hospital officials said.

Kate Gosselin, 29, delivered her three sons and three daughters in her 30th week of pregnancy. The babies were delivered by Caesarean section at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, hospital officials said.

"I'd just like to thank the Lord," said Jonathan Gosselin, 27, the babies' father. "It was truly an amazing thing."

The father joined doctors and nurses at a late afternoon news conference, where they said the mother was in good condition and the babies in satisfactory condition. All but one of the infants were still on ventilators late Monday afternoon.

Sextuplets are rare. Hospital officials said that as of March 15, only 138 documented sets had been born worldwide. Kate Gosselin had been taking a fertility drug to conceive, her husband said.

Gosselin and her husband are also the parents of 3-year-old twins.

More than 50 doctors, nurses and other specialists were involved in the delivery, including color-coded teams that took each baby as it was delivered and cared for it.

The heaviest baby weighed 3 pounds 0.5 ounces; the lightest was 2 pounds 7.5 ounces.

Jonathan Gosselin said the family's church had offered to pay to expand their home. Various corporations have also made donations, he said.

Posted by thinkum at May 11, 2004 04:47 PM