SEXTUPLETS: Virginia couple has 6 babies after trying for 17 years

RICHMOND, Va. (WDRB) -- It took 17 years, but Adeboye and Ajibola Taiwo are finally parents. They have not one, not two, but six newborns. All three boys and three girls are in good condition.

The babies were delivered by cesarean section at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond May 11.

Ajibola Taiwo, a native of Western Nigeria, and her husband Adeboye had tried but failed to have a baby. During an ultrasound in November, the doctor heard four heartbeats. By the first of the year, they found out they were going to have sextuplets.

As soon as doctors realized that Ajibola was having six babies, they started planning. A 40-person team began drills and resuscitation exercises to make sure everything was ready for the birth.

After 30 weeks, the babies were born. Each weighed under three pounds ranging from 1 lb. 10 oz. to 2 lb. 15 oz. The babies remain in the NICU two weeks after their births. But they are all doing well, and their parents are thrilled.

Sextuplets are very rare. In 2015, the last year for which data is available, nearly four million babies were born in the US. The number of quintuplets or higher was only 24.