TEHRAN An American woman taking fertility drugs has given birth to the world's first surviving set of octuplets, AFP from Houston quoted a doctor as saying. The doctor said Nkem Chukwu gave birth to seven babies five girls and two boys at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston around 9:00 a.m. (1500 gmt) Sunday after giving birth to a girl on December 8. The first girl, known as baby A, was 15 weeks premature and her seven siblings 13 weeks premature, she said.

The largest of the babies, a boy, was born weighing 801 grams (26 ounces) while the smallest weighed 520 grams (16.7 ounces). None of the babies has yet been named, St. Luke's said in a statement.