Joy in Ethiopia as Woman Welcomes Rare Quintuplets After 12 Years of Waiting

(The five blessings. Photo by BBC)

After 12 years of searching for a child, a woman in Ethiopia's Harari Regional state gave birth to rare quintuplets.

The couple was "overjoyed" to be "blessed with five children at once," according to Bedriya Adem.

"I cannot express my happiness in words," she told the BBC, recalling how she was "filled with depression and pain" until her prayers were granted. The 35-year-old gave birth to four boys and a girl at the Hiwot Fana Specialised Hospital, all of whom are in "full health," according to the hospital.

The mother and infants were still receiving medical attention at the hospital, according to Dr. Mohammed Nur Abdulahi, the medical director. The infants weighed three pounds, or 1.3 to 1.4 kilograms.

Newborns weighing more than a kilogram are more likely to survive and grow well, he told the BBC.

Bedriya conceived spontaneously without the use of in vitro fertilization (IVF), which the facility does not provide, the doctor told the BBC.

If more than one embryo can be transferred, IVF may increase the likelihood of multiple births.

There is a one in 55 million probability of spontaneously conceiving quintuplets.

"She received regular medical care during her pregnancy and was informed that she had conceived more than one baby," the doctor stated, referring to Tuesday night's Caesarean delivery. Mohammed noted her "excitement" and stated, "She had full and proper medical assistance throughout."

Bedriya claimed that although she was initially told she was expecting four children, there was actually one more when she gave birth.

She expressed her feelings throughout her "long wait," saying, "I prayed for just one child, and Allah gave me five."

According to the first-time mother, her spouse already lived with a child from a previous marriage.

"He used to tell me that having [the other child] was enough and that I should not worry, but deep inside I was suffering - psychologically and emotionally - as the entire village questioned my inability to give birth," she told me. "What I endured in the past feels like a distant dream, one I do not even want to recall," said she.

"I spent 12 years in pain, hiding myself, and praying constantly for children - at last, Allah heard me."

As a subsistence farmer, she expressed uncertainty about how she would support her growing family. "But I believe Allah will provide, through the support of my community and the government."

Naif, Ammar, Munzir, Nazira, and Ansar have been identified as their "five blessings"