- Dominika Clarke gave birth Sunday to quintuplets in Poland.
- She already had seven children, including two sets of twins.
A Polish mom has delivered quintuplets, rounding out her family at a dozen children.
"We were planning on having an eighth child, but it turned out that there would be a few more children," Dominika Clarke, the 37-year-old mother, said, according to The First News.
The babies, who were delivered at 28 weeks of gestation on Sunday, weighed between 1.5 and 3 pounds. They were all doing well, and Clarke said at a news conference Tuesday that she was feeling "much better than I had expected" after delivering her babies.
The three girls and two boys are named Elizabeth May, Evangeline Rose, Arianna Daisy, Charles Patrick, and Henry James. They join siblings who range in age from 10 months old to 12 years old. The family already included two sets of twins.
Speaking with reporters, Clarke was optimistic about managing her large family.
"If you have a system, a calm approach, and a positive attitude, then it is possible to have a really cool life with such a large bunch of children," she said, according to The Washington Post.
Quintuplets are super rare, but this Polish hospital has delivered 2 sets
The chances of spontaneously conceiving quintuplets are about 1 in 60 million. But the use of assisted reproductive technology has made quints slightly more common, at once in every 52 million pregnancies, according to the hospital. An estimated 99% of quintuplet pregnancies come from assisted reproduction, though it's not clear whether Clarke and her husband, Vincent, used medical interventions.
Clarke's delivery was in good hands. The University Hospital in Kraków, where she received care, delivered another set of quints in 2015.
"It is said that 'nothing happens twice,' and yet at the University Hospital, miracles like to repeat themselves!" the hospital said on its website. "We are extremely happy and touched that once again we can participate in such an extraordinary event, and the knowledge and experience of our specialists ensure that such multiple pregnancies will have a happy delivery."
The babies will spend a few weeks in the hospital
Higher-order multiples like quints come with a host of health risks for the mother and the babies. Mothers are at increased risk for preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and anemia, among other conditions. The babies, who are nearly always delivered prematurely, are at risk for infections, developmental delays, breathing trouble, and more.
The hospital said the Clarke quints "will spend the next few weeks" in its neonatal department. It's a great sign that the quints were born at 28 weeks, since delivery before that gestational age increases the risk for complications.
When it's time to leave the hospital, "seven siblings are eagerly waiting for them at home," the medical center said. For the Clarkes — who met in London, where Dominika was teaching English and math — adding five healthy babies to their brood is a wonder.
"A miracle has happened," the mother said.