A woman who already had 12 children has given birth to quintuplets after conceiving them naturally.

The 48-year-old woman from Melbourne, Australia gave birth to two boys and three girls by caesarean section today.

Tragically one of the girls died before the birth.

A team of 30 specialists including paediatricians, anaesthetists and nursing staff delivered the five babies, the first quintuplets in Melbourne for three decades.

The chances of conceiving quintuplets naturally is about one in 55 million, doctors say.

A spokesman for Monash Medical Centre where the historical birth took place said: ‘Mum is doing well.

‘One unfortunately did not make it.’

The four surviving babies will be cared for around the clock in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.

– Daily Mail