Woman Gives Birth To Sextuplets

Just before 8 am on May 10, 2004, Kate Gosselin gave birth to what is believed to be only the second set of sextuplets born in Pennsylvania, at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Registered nurse Deb Kreiger tends to Alexis Faith Gosselin, who was born first at 7:51 a.m. She weighs 2 pounds, 11.5 ounces.

A woman gave birth to sextuplets Monday May 10, 2004, 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 just before 8 a.m. 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."

Mr. Gosselin 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.

"Their excellent condition is a testament to Kate Gosselin's resolve, and the expert care of our obstetrical staff," said Dr. Dennis Mujsce, medical director of the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit.

Sextuplets are rare. Hospital officials said that as of March 15, only 138 documented sets had been born worldwide.

Gosselin and her husband live in Wyomissing, a suburb of Reading, and are also the parents of 3-year-old twins. Kate Gosselin was admitted to the hospital in early March.

Jonathan Gosselin said his wife is tired but seems to be doing well.

"We met with Joe Paterno today, so she was uplifted by that," he said.

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 delivery room was quite busy," Mujsce said.

The sextuplets were delivered in a span of about three minutes. Alexis Faith, weighing 2 pounds, 11.5 ounces, was born first at 7:51 a.m. She was followed by Hannah Joy, 2 pounds, 11 ounces; Aaden Jonathan, 2 pounds 7.5 ounces; Collin Thomas, 3 pounds 0.5 ounces; Leah Hope, 2 pounds 14.8 ounces, and Joel Kevin, 2 pounds 9.7 ounces.

Mr. Gosselin, who wore six hospital wristbands to the news conference, said the family's church, Calvary Bible Fellowship Church, in Sinking Spring, had offered to pay to expand the family's home. Various corporations have also made donations, he said.

"Our church is behind us 100 percent. We have everything material taken care of," said Gosselin, an information technologies director for a petroleum equipment company, near Reading.

The Gosselin Sextuplets

Alexis Faith Gosselin		Hannah Joy Gosselin

Aaden Jonathan Gosselin		Collin Thomas Gosselin

Leah Hope Gosselin		Joel Kevin Gosselin

Just before 8 am on May 10, 2004, Kate Gosselin gave birth to what is believed to be only the second set of sextuplets born in Pennsylvania, at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Registered nurse Deb Kreiger tends to Alexis Faith Gosselin, who was born first at 7:51 a.m. She weighs 2 pounds, 11.5 ounces.		A member of the media asked Jonathan Gosselin if he had thought about the fact that he could have eight children in college at the same time, with his six new children joining his 3-year-old twins. Gosselin, who said that Penn State football Coach Joe Paterno visited the family on May 10, and is hoping that the boys get football scholarships to Penn State to help fund their educations.

First Sets Born
1500s - Italy
1600s - Italy
1831 - An unidentified set was born in the USA on December 30 1831. They were reportedly 6 girls, none survived, and the mother was 19.
1844 - Italy
1847 - Maine - 2 surviving
1866 - Laberto (d at birth), Lucy (d at birth), Alberto (d in 1940), Alice Elizabeth (unknown date of death), Alincia (d in 1942) and Norberto (d in 1935) Bushnell of Chicago, born September 8 1866. The family kept the birth a secret and did not tell the children they were surviving sextuplets until they were 15.
1886 - Spain with one surviving.
1888 - The Hirsch family of Texas were born in 1888, 4 boys, 2 girls, but no information on how many survived.
1893 - England - 6 girls

Living Sets (All Survive)
There are currently 27 living sets in the world (and 1 set of 6 surviving octuplets):

9 in the USA (Dilley, Haner, Boniello, Headrick, Harris, Perry, Van Houten, Hanselman, Otten)
3 in England (Walton, Coleman, Vince)
3 in Italy (Giannini, Incarnato, Secco)
2 in Argentina (Ascensio, Lopez)
2 in Mexico (Garja/Tijerina, (Martinez Nunez Carillo)
1 each in Egypt (Abdel-Fattah), Belgium (Vanhove/Gadeyne), Mexico (Garja/Tijerina), France (Adam), Germany (Mooser), Indonesia (Prijono), Palestine (Al-Khatih), Lebanon (Ghosson) & South Africa (Rosenkowitz)

Surviving octuplet set - Spain (Clavijo)
There is the possibility of 45 sets living, as there is no follow up inforomation on these sets:

Argentina (Caram, Lopez), Australia (1986 unidentified), Egypt (Abbas/Basha), Greece (Tika), Guatemala (1978 unidentified), Iraq (Ahmed), Israel (Shanun), Italy (Carotenuto, 1989 set, Chiarelli/Lo Vetere), Pakistan (Sheikh), Saudi Arabia (1998 unidentified, 2000 unidentified), South Africa (Craig), Spain (1985 unidentified), Venezuela (Medina), USA (Poliseno) and 2 sets I don't have a location for (Belfort, Glasscock). Someone told me they saw a special on the Glasscock sextuplets and all survived.

First Surviving Set
1974 - David Peter, Emma Louise, Nicolette Anne, Grant, Elizabeth Rebecca and Jason Solomon Rosenkowitz born in South Africa January 11 1974.

All Surviving Sets
1974 - Rosenkowitz (South Africa, Jan 11) David Peter, Grant, Jason Solomon, Emma Louise, Nicolette Anne & Elizabeth Rebecca.
1980 - Giannini (Italy, January 11) Francesco, Fabrizio, Giorgio, Roberto, Letizia & Linda.
1983 - Vanhove/Gadeyne (Belgium, August 17) Bruno, Jelle, Tom, Arne, Lode & Veerle.
1983 - Walton (UK, Nov 18) Hannah Jane 2lbs 1oz, Lucy Anne 2lbs 15ozs, Ruth Michelle 2lbs 11ozs, Sarah Louise 2lbs 5ozs, Kate Elizabeth 2lbs 13ozs, Jennifer Rose 3lbs 8ozs.
1985 - Mooser (Germany) 4 boys, 2 girls
1986 - Coleman (England, November 12) Gary, James, Stuart, Hannah, Nichola and Jayne.
1989 - Adam (France, January 14) Melanie, Doriane, Coralie, Gaelle, Cedric and Kevin. Sometimes their last name is seen as Adan.
1993 - Vince (England, May 19) Rebecca 2lbs 9ozs, Gregory 2lbs 11ozs, Katie 1lb 5ozs, Stephanie 2lbs 12ozs, Jessica 2lbs 6ozs and Valerie 2lbs 7ozs.
1993 - Asencio/Lungano (Argentina, May 22) Francisco, Julio, Mercedes, Mary Ines, Lucia and Mary Laura.
1993 - Dilley (IN, May 25) Brenna Rose 2lbs 6ozs, Ian Michael 2lbs 11ozs, Julian Emerson 2lbs 13ozs, Quinn Everett 2lbs 2ozs, Claire Diane 2lbs 7ozs & Adrian Reed 2lbs 13ozs.
1993 - Lopez (Argentina, July 7) Mar?Luz, Solana, Camila, Julieta, Alejo and Lautaro.
1996 - Haner (NY, Mar 22 ) Christian Eric 2lbs 6ozs, Ryan Thomas 2lbs 9ozs, Austin Nathaniel 2lbs 9ozs, Mary Ellen Theresa 2lbs, Joshua Erin 2lbs 6ozs & Breanna Mae 2lbs.
1996 - Incarnato (Italy, March 27) Sara, Deborah, Rosanna, Mariarca, Emanuele & Pasquale.
1996 - Garja/Tijerina (Mexico, June 26) Luis, Jose, Carlos, Esperanza, Rebeca & Ana.
1997 - Boniello (NY, Mar 24) Trifon Robert 2lbs 11ozs, Sabrina Juliet 2lbs 8ozs, Olivia Frederica 2lbs 11ozs, Gerard Martin 2lbs 12ozs, Sophia Betty 2lbs 3ozs & Stella Raquel 2lbs 11ozs.
1997 - Secco (Italy, August 11) Davide, Jacopo, Nicolo, Elena, Silvia & Mattia
1997 - Abdel-Fattah (Egypt, October 31) 6 girls
1998 - Prijono (Indonesia, November 29) Danny, Davis, Dylon, Douglas, Dominick & Deirdre. They ranged from 2.65lbs 3.97lbs
1999 - Martinez (Mexico, November 23 1999) Jos?Gerardo, Antonio, Fabian, Julia and Cecilia.
2002 - Headrick (KS, Apr 6) Grant Douglas 3lbs 11ozs, Ethan Roy 3lbs 1oz, Sean Edward 2lbs 10ozs, Melissa Sue 3lbs 5ozs, Jaycie Linette 3lbs 8ozs & Danielle Patrice 3lbs 1oz.
2002 - Harris (AL, July 7) Kierra Christine 1lb 4ozs, Kaylynne Antoinett 1lb 7ozs, Kaleb Reddrick 1lb 11ozs, Kobe Byshari 1lbs 8ozs, Kieran Anthony 1lb 12ozs & Kyle Jacob 1lb 10ozs.
2003 - Perry (Pennsylvania, March 19) Ian Richard 2lbs 9ozs, Simon Edward, Olivia Ann, Zoe Patricia, Joshua Joseph & Madison Regina 1lb 9ozs born at 28 weeks.
2003 - Al-Khatih (Gaza/Palestine, September 12) Yasser, Arafat, Ammar, Palestina, Tahreer & Nida.
2003 - Ghosson (Lebanon, October 11) Batool, Aya, Mariyam, Hitaf, Ali (b) & Abdelrahman (b).
2004 - Van Houten (MI, Jan 7, 16, 17) Jon Paul 1lb 8ozs, Gerrit Calvin 1lb 12ozs, Peyton Scott 1lb 4ozs, Nolan Benjamin 2lbs 1oz, Samantha Clair 1lb 6ozs & Kennedy Alexis 1lb 5ozs.
2004 - Hanselman (Ohio, Feb 26) Kyle Allen 2lbs 6ozs, Logan James 2lbs 8ozs, Alex Edwin 2lbs 8ozs, Isabella Jean 2lbs 10ozs, Sophia Ivy 1lb 9ozs & Lucy Arlene 2lbs 1oz.
2004 - Otten (Illinois, April 9) Jacob, Joshua, Tyler, Isabella, Madison and Rileigh. From 1lb 13ozs to 2lbs 15ozs.

The Gosselin family delivered sextuplets May 10, 2004 in Pennsylvania. The 3 boys and 3 girls were named Joel Kevin, Aaden Jonathan, Collin Thomas, Alexis Faith, Hannah Joy and Leah Hope. They also have twins Cara and Madelyn.

In addition there are 6 surviving octuplets born to Rosario Clavijo on Spain on December 5 1996.

First American Set To Survive
1993 - Brenna, Ian, Julian, Quinn, Claire, and Adrian Dilley of Indiana, born May 25 1993.

First African American Set To Survive
2002 - Kierra, Kaylynne, Kaleb, Kobe, Kieran and Kyle Harris (Alabama, July 7).

The Thompson sextuplets were the first African American set to be born in the US, with 5 surviving.

First Set Born From Fertility Treatments

1968 - Lynne (d), Julie, Susan, girl (d), Ian (d), and Roger Thorns were born in England in October 2 1968, they were the result of HCG treatment.

Youngest Mother of Sextuplets
19 years old - An unidentified mother who had sextuplets in the USA on December 30 1831
19 years old - An unidentified Nigerian mother had her set in 1907, they were 6 girls who did not survive.
20 years old - The mother of Nerio, Danilo, Henry, Sergio, Elaine, and Carolina Medina/Paez of Venezuela, born April 3 1990 with 4 surviving.

Lightest Birthweight (Total)
9lbs 2ozs - Van Houten (Michigan, January 7, 16 and 17 2004)
9lbs 13ozs - Harris (Alabama, July 7 2002)

Lightest Birthweight (Single Baby)
1lb 4ozs - Kierra Harris born in Alabama July 7 2002.
1lb 4ozs - Peyton Van Houten born in Michigan January 2004.
1lb 5ozs - Kennedy Van Houten born in Michigan January 2004.

Heaviest Birthweight (Total)
24lbs 1ozs - Rosenkowitz (South Africa, January 11 1974)
19lbs 7ozs - Headrick (Kansas, Apr 6 2002)

It is suspected the weight for the Rosenkowitz sextuplets may actually be 14 lbs 1 oz, as 24 lbs 1 ozs would make each baby around 4lbs.

Heaviest Birthweight (Single Baby)
3lbs 11ozs - Grant Headrick born in Kansas, April 6 2002.
3lbs 8.8ozs - Jaycie Headrick born in Kansas, April 6 2002.
3lbs 8ozs - Jenny Walton born in England, November 18 1983.

* Birthweights for many sets are missing, so these records may not be complete.

Longest Gestation
33 weeks - Jos?Gerardo, Antonio, Fabian, Julia and Cecilia Martinez of Mexico, born November 23 1999.
32 weeks 3 days - Melanie, Doriane, Coralie, Gaelle, Cedric and Kevin Adam of France, in 1989.
32 weeks - Gary, James, Stuart, Hannah, Nichola and Jane Coleman of England born in 1986.
32 weeks - A German set (could be Coenen, Mooser, Werner or 2 unidentified sets).
31 weeks, 1 day - Ethan, Grant, Sean, Melissa, Jaycie and Danielle Headrick of Kansas born in 2002.

Delayed Birth
24 days - Jeremiah, Noah, Christopher, Rebekah, Hannah and Faith Collins were born October 18 (Christopher) and November 11 1998. Four survive.
23 days - Frank, Andrew, John, William, Salome and Deborah Craig, born October 16 and November 8 1980. [This set has not been verified, but info appeared in Guinness]
9 days - John Paul, Gerrit, Nolan, Peyton, Samantha and Kennedy Van Houten of Michigan, born January 7, 16 and 17 2004 with all surviving.

Natural Delivery
1983 - The Vanhove/Gadeyne sextuplets of Belgium on August 17 1983.
2003 - The Ibikunle sextuplets of Nigeria on March 31 2003. Two survive.
2004 - The Van Houten sextuplets of Michigan on January 7, 16 and 17 2004.

Spontaneously Conceived
1996 - Luis, Jose, Carlos, Esperanza, Rebeca, Annasanti Garja/Tijerino (sometimes seen as Martinez) of Mexico born June 26 1996.
1998 - Yao Hong of China had 4 boys and 2 girls (3 boys identical) on December 23 1998, with 3 boys and 1 girl surviving.
1998 - An unidentified woman in Saudi Arabia. She already had a set of triplets. It wasn't listed how many survived.
2003 - David and Deborah Ibukinle are the two surviving babies born in Nigeria March 31 2003. The parents are both twins and the sextuplets were delivered naturally.
2003 - The Wang sextuplets were born May 2003, 5 survive.
2003 - Mahmoud, Al-Sayed, Hani, Hanem and Hebat Alla Abdel-Meguid/Abdel Hakim of Egypt October 27 2003. One girl died. Two boys are identical and 2 girls are identical.
2003 - The Chiarelli/Lo Vetere sextuplets were due in Italy in 2003 and were conceived spontaneously.

All Female Sextuplets
1831 - An unidentified set was born in the USA but they all died the night of their birth.
1893 - An unidentified set born in England, no word on survivors.
1907 - An unidentified set born in Nigeria with none surviving.
1980 - The Abbas Basha's had all girls in 1980, but I couldn't find a follow up on how many survived.
1983 - The Hannah, Lucy, Ruth, Sarah, Kate and Jenny Waltons born November 18 1983 in England, were the called the 1st set of surviving all female sextuplets.
1997 - Amal Abdel-Fattah of Egypt gave birth to sextuplets October 31 1997.

All Male Sextuplets
1967 - An unidentified set from Pakistan, born November 1 1967, with no info on survivors.
1983 - The Ahmed sextuplets of Iraq were born in January 1983, but never followed up on if any survived.
1985 - The Calcatelli sextuplets were born in Italy on January 9 1985. One died at 10 days, but I don't know how many survived.

Sets With Identicals
2 sets of identicals - 1903 - unidentified (Ghana, April 198 1903) 2 sets of boys were identical, 1 boy fraternal and 1 girl fraternal. None survived.
2 sets of identicals - 2003 - Abdel-Meguid/Abdel Hakim (Egypt, October 27 2003) 2 boys identical, 2 girls identical, a boy and girl fraternal. 5 survive (1 girl died).
3 identical - 1998 - Hong (China, December 23 1998) 3 boys identical, 1 boy fraternal, 2 girls fraternal. 4 survive.
2 identical - 1998 - Lacasale (New Jersey, October 20 1998) 2 identical babies were lost in utero, unsure of sex.

American Surviving Sextuplets (less than 6 surviving)
1936 - Marjorie-Louise Speichinger (Missouri, August 9 1936). She is the only survivor.
1973 - Stephen, Jeffrey (d at age 9), Nathan, John, Catherine and Julia (d at birth) Stanek (Texas, September 17 1973).
1997 - Emily, Richard, Octavia, Stella, Ann Maria, and Alison (d at birth) Thompson (Washington DC, May 8 1997) with 5 surviving, as the first African-American sextuplets.
1997 - Ryan, Brady, Kiara, Shelby, Darby and Morgan (d) Leonard (Illinois, October 21 1997).
1998 - Christopher (d October 18 1998), Jeremiah, Rebekah (d January 7 2003), Noah, Hannah and Faith Collins (Texas, October 18, November 11 1998) with 4 surviving.
1998 - Anthony, Joseph, Patricia and Stephanie Lacasale (2 lost in utero) (New Jersey, October 20 1998).
1999 - Ian, Christian, Taylor (d) and Sage (d) Cooper (2 lost in utero) (Pennsylvania?, February 6 1999), with 2 surviving.
2000 - Hunter, Griffin (d) , Jordan, Faith, Morgan and Cassandra Taylor (North Carolina, September 11 2000).
2001 - Colorado, July 2001 with 5 surviving.

Many factors determine an individual baby's chances of survival. The most important of these are:

In the smallest infants, gestational age is usually most important because it determines if the infant's organs, particularly the lungs, have developed enough to allow the baby to live within the limits of our current technology. Your baby's doctor will be able to give you the best estimate of your infant's chances since he/she can take into consideration many of the above factors. But, no estimate is perfect. Some babies suddenly get sick and die unexpectedly; others defy all odds. General estimates of survival for live born infants who receive neonatal intensive care in the USA in the late 1990's are:

Completed Weeks of Gestation at Birth (Using last menstrual period)	Survival
21 weeks and less	0%
22 weeks	0-10%*
23 weeks	10-40%
24 weeks	40-70%
25 weeks	50-80%
26 weeks	80-90%
27 weeks	>90%
30 weeks	>95%
34 weeks	>98%

*Most babies at 22 weeks are not recuscitated because survival without major disability is so rare.

A baby's chances for survival increases 3-4% per day between 23 and 24 weeks of gestation and about 2-3% per day between 24 and 26 weeks of gestation. After 26 weeks the rate of survival increases at a much slower rate because survival is high already.

Other factors may influence survival by altering the rate of organ maturation or by changing the supply of oxygen to the developing fetus.

Yes, there are things s/he can try if there is enough time and if you are the appropriate candidate for therapy. Sometimes women are too near delivery for treatments to be effective. Other women have complications such as infection, fetal distress or bleeding which make a more rapid delivery the best option.

What are the chances that my baby will have a significant disability or handicap?

For any infant, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PREDICT AHEAD OF TIME THE LIKELIHOOD OF A SIGNIFICANT HANDICAP (moderate or severe mental retardation, inability to walk without assistance, blindness or deafness). However, some factors increase the RISK of these handicaps:

Most children with a significant disabilities enjoy life and are a source of pleasure to their parents.

Minor disabilities occur in about 15% of children born on time. They occur more often in premature infants, about half of infants weighing less than 3 1/2 pounds at birth. Many of these are not appreciated until school age. Common minor disabilities include short attention span; specific learning problems in school such as difficulty with math or reading; poorer than average coordination, especially for games requiring eye-hand coordination like hitting a ball; and needing glasses at an early age. Children with minor disabilities usually lead normal lives. Early identification of these problems helps make learning easier.

Completed Weeks of Gestation at Birth(Using last menstrual period)

Survival

Completed Weeks of Gestation at Birth
(Using last menstrual period)