Belfast quins defying the odds

Rhonda and Noel Loughran, from Cabragh, Co. Tyrone, are parents to only the 12th set of natural quins to be born worldwide since records began.

" We thought twins would be plenty - but we wouldn't change anything now "
Rhonda Laughlan, mother-of-six

Aine, Alanna, Caitlin and Aaron are said to be "making good progress" since their birth three weeks ago - although the smallest baby, Conan, weighing only 1lb 6oz at birth, has a chest infection and is still in intensive care.

They were born at Belfast's Royal Maternity Hospital.

Double twins

Two of the girls, and Aaron and Conan are identical twins, developing from just two fertilised eggs.

The odds against quins of this type are calculated at more than three billion to one.

Even the chances of them all surviving their first night is only 10,000 to one.

The couple already have a two-year-old son.

Originally, doctors told Noel and Rhonda that four children were on the way, but discovered a fifth tucked up at the base of her ribs just as she was due to give birth by caesarean section.

She told the Daily Mail: "We thought twins would be plenty - but we wouldn't change anything now.

"We've got so attached to all of the babies. It would be devastating if anything happened to any one of them."

Extra chance

Multiple births involving four or even five babies are more commmon in women undergoing fertility treatment, as, in some cases, three or more embryos are put back into the womb.

However, in nature, it is unusual for a woman to release three or more eggs in a single cycle.

The famous Walton sextuplets - now teenagers - were conceived naturally.

Some estimates suggest it can cost up to £20,000 to raise a single child up to the age of five.

A year's bill will include more than 5,000 nappies, plus clothes, shoes and toys.

The couple are planning to stay in their four-bedroom house.

A spokesman for the Royal Maternity Hospital told BBC News Online that the quins were "all stable" on Monday morning.