Doctors say that the six babies - who have not been named yet - are well but under-weight |
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An Afghan
mother has given birth to six children at a hospital in the northern city of
Mazar-e-Sharif.
The woman
was not aware she was carrying more than one child and had not received
fertility treatment.
Doctors say
the mother arrived in hospital on Monday and gave birth on the same day to
three boys and three girls. It was her first pregnancy.
Doctors say
that having six children without fertility treatment is extremely rare.
Afghanistan
has one of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the world.
'Brave'
The mother,
named as Sharah, 24, arrived in Mazar-e-Sharif hospital from a remote village
in Balkh province.
Sharah is exhausted after the unexpected birth of her six children |
Provincial
Health Director Mirwais Rabi told the BBC that all six babies are well but
under-weight, with one only weighing about 700g (25oz).
Mr Rabi
said the sextuplets were being kept inside incubators and a special team of
nurses and doctors are looking after them.
The mother
is said to be in good health but exhausted.
Doctors say
that had they been aware that she was carrying six children, she would have
been in hospital at least several days in advance.
The BBC's
Bilal Sawary in Kabul says Sharah's story has made headlines on Afghan
television and radio stations.
"She
is brave, she is amazing," one resident said, "I don't know how she
carried six children. The government should help her now."
A 2010
survey revealed that infant and under-fives mortality rates appeared to be
decreasing.
Experts say
that despite recent improvements, Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous
places in the world to be a pregnant woman or a young child.
One in 10
children in Afghanistan still dies before they are five years old, the survey
said.
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