A local mother who received treatment to help her get pregnant has given birth to three boys and two girls at Tu Du Obstetrics Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City .

All five babies were born prematurely. The three boys weighed 2kg, 1.8kg and 1.5kg and the girls 1.3kg, according to Dr Vu Te Dang, the ward's deputy head.

The three boys are in a stable condition and being fed milk, he said.

The two girls are being fed through a vein and taken care of in a special room at the hospital. They have symptoms of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome.

After being married for two years, the 28-year-old mother of the city's District 5 visited a clinic seeking fertility assistance methods. The doctor there used ovulation-stimulating medications, and she became pregnant.

The ultrasounds showed only four fetuses, and doctors suggested that she give up one or two fetuses to protect her health. But she refused.

On March 17, she was brought to Tu Du hospital, ahead of her due date of April 30.

Unexpectedly, doctors found a fifth baby during the 50-minute operation.

Dr Huynh Thi Thu Thuy, the hospital's deputy head, said that it was the first set of quintuplets born in the hospital. Thuy said that doctors often advise multi-fetal pregnancy reduction in the seventh or eighth week of pregnancy.

By reducing the number of fetuses, the remaining fetuses have a better chance for health and survival, she said.

Multiple pregnancy can cause a high risk of complications and harm the mother and the babies.

The hospital has reduced part of medical fee for the woman and has provided free milk to the babies.

According to the city's Population and Family Planning Division, the Government has not yet had a support policy for multiple pregnancies.-VNA