This is a list of multiple births, consisting of notable higher order (4+) multiple births and pregnancies. Twins and triplets are sufficiently common to have their own separate articles. With the use of reproductive technology such as fertility drugs and in vitro fertilization (IVF) such births have become increasingly common.
This list contains only multiple births which have some claim to notability, such as being the first recorded in a country, the first to survive to adulthood in a country, the heaviest, lightest or longest lived (globally), or having had substantial media coverage.
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) has contributed to an increase in multiple births.
Notable Quintuplets and Quadruplets
The Lyon quintuplets (born 29 April 1896) were the first American quintuplets who were all born alive. Born in 1934, the Dionne children are the first set of quintuplets known to survive. The Dionne quintuplets (born 28 May 1934, near Corbeil, Ontario, Canada) were the first quintuplets known to survive infancy. The Diligenti quintuplets were born to Franco (or Jaime) and Ana Diligenti on 15 July 1943, in Argentina and were the second quintuplets to survive infancy and the first ever in South America.
The Fischer quintuplets (born 14 September 1963, in Aberdeen, South Dakota) were the first known surviving set of American quintuplets. The Lawson quintuplets (born 27 July 1965, in Auckland, New Zealand) were the first set of surviving quintuplets conceived through the use of fertility medication and are the only known New Zealand quintuplets:[36] They were one boy (Samuel) and four girls (Deborah, Lisa, Shirlene and Selina). The Braham quintuplets (born 31 December 1967) were the first quintuplets to be born in Australia.
Read also: Experience Fad's Fine African Cuisine
The Brunner quintuplets (born 9 June 1978, in Nancy) were the first surviving set born in France. The Granata quintuplets (born 1 June 1981, in Toledo, Ohio) were three boys and two girls conceived through the use of fertility medication and born at 28 weeks to Janice and George Granata. The Al-Ghamdi quintuplets (born 2 February 1988, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) were the first set to be born in Saudi Arabia. The Chapman-Burgess quintuplets (born 13 May 1992 in Brisbane, Australia) are the only known set of Indigenous Australian quintuplets.
The Nur Adlan quintuplets were born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 20 May 1996. The Chin quintuplets were born in Singapore on 1 April 1997. The Cassidy quintuplets were born in Dublin, Ireland, on 16 August 2001, to Veronica and Kevin Cassidy of Wexford. The Gonzalez-Moreno quintuplets were born in Phoenix, Arizona, on 26 April 2005, to Luisa Gonzalez and Enrique Moreno via surrogate mother, Teresa Anderson. The five boys are the first set of quintuplets born via surrogate.
The Kroščen quintuplets were born in Prague, Czech Republic, on 2 June 2013, to Alexandra Kiňová and Antonín Kroščen of Milovice. The Busby quintuplets were born on 8 April 2015, in Houston, Texas, to Adam and Danielle Busby. The five girls (Ava Lane, Olivia Marie, Hazel Grace, Riley Paige, and Parker Kate) are the first set of all female quintuplets born in the United States.
The Busby quintuplets, the first all-female quintuplets born in the United States.
The Gehri quadruplets (born 26 September 1880, in Switzerland) were the first recorded to have survived to adulthood. The Keys quadruplets (born 4 June 1915, in Hollis, Oklahoma) were the first same-sex quadruplets known to survive to adulthood. The Sara quadruplets (born 17 August 1950, in Bellingen, New South Wales) were the first surviving quadruplets in Australia.
Read also: The Story Behind Cachapas
African-American Sextuplets: A Historic Overview
The Bushnell sextuplets (born 8 September 1866 in Chicago, Illinois) were born to Winnie and James Bushnell. They are the first documented sextuplets born in the USA. The Thompson sextuplets (born 8 May 1997, in Washington, D.C.) were born to Jacqueline and Linden Thompson. They are the first African-American sextuplets.
Although the babies were small, their birth was big news-they are the first set of surviving African-American sextuplets in history. The Harris sextuplets (born 7 July 2002, in Alabama) are two girls (Kiera Christine and Kalynne Antoinett) and four boys (Kaleb Reddrick, Kobe Byshari, Kieran Anthony, and Kyle Jacob). They are Alabama's first set of sextuplets and were the first recorded set of surviving African-American sextuplets.
The Harris family received a new home in a 2005 episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
The Harris Sextuplets, the first surviving African-American sextuplets.
Other Notable Multiple Births
The Frustaci septuplets (born 21 May 1985, in Orange, California) are the first septuplets to be born in the United States. Born on November 19, 1997, the McCaughey septuplets are the first set of septuplets in history! The McCaughey septuplets (born 19 November 1997, in Des Moines, Iowa) are the world's first surviving set of septuplets.
Read also: Techniques of African Jewellery
The Humair septuplets (born 14 January 1998, in Abha, Saudi Arabia) were the world's second surviving set of septuplets. The McGhee septuplets (born 9 June 2010, in Columbus, Ohio) were born to Mia and Rozonno McGhee at 27 weeks.
The Suleman octuplets (born 26 January 2009, in Bellflower, California, United States) were the world's first set of octuplets to survive infancy. One week after birth, the Suleman octuplets became the longest-living octuplets in known history.
| Type of Multiple Birth | Family | Birth Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sextuplets | Thompson | May 8, 1997 | First African-American sextuplets |
| Sextuplets | Harris | July 7, 2002 | First surviving African-American sextuplets |
| Septuplets | McCaughey | November 19, 1997 | First surviving septuplets |
| Octuplets | Suleman | January 26, 2009 | First octuplets to survive infancy |
Multiple births have captured public attention for decades, with families like the Dionnes, Kienasts, and Gosselins becoming household names through television appearances and reality shows.
As babies, they were considered a rare phenomenon and immediately became world famous. Three of the five quints were still living when The Oprah Show aired in January 1996. The Kienast quintuplets-Sara, Amy, Ted, Gordon and Abby-were 25 years old when they shared their story with Oprah on January 19, 1996. For five seasons, millions of viewers tuned in every week to see what Jon and Kate Gosselin and their children were up to. Why were they so intriguing? Jon and Kate are the parents of twins and sextuplets!
In 2000, Kate gave birth to twin girls, Cara and Mady. Then, the couple decided to try for one more child. "We got a little more than we bargained for-we got six more," Kate said. While still grieving the loss of twins who passed away at birth, Rozonno and Mia McGhee found out they were pregnant-with sextuplets! "I can't believe that they're mine," Mia said. "It's a true miracle."
First-time parents Holly Robinson Peete and Rodney Peete's twins Rodney Jr. and Ryan Elizabeth made their television debut on The Oprah Show just one month after they were born in 1997. Years later, Rodney Jr.
Belize Medical Mission - Jenny - Star of TLC's Raising Sextuplets
Since the debut of their hit TLC reality series, Little People, Big World, Matt and Amy Roloff and their kids, Jeremy, Zach, Molly and Jacob, have become one of the most well-known families in America. Twins Jeremy and Zach are the oldest of the Roloffs' four children, but they aren't identical. They were born only two seconds apart, but now, Zach and Jeremy are nearly two feet apart in height. "It's fun," Zach said during a 2006 Oprah Show appearance.
The Olsen twin craze began when Mary-Kate and Ashley were just 9 months old, appearing as baby Michelle on the television show Full House. At just 7 years old, the mini-moguls co-founded Dualstar to market their images to tweens around the world, and at 18, the girls took over the company, estimated to be worth millions.
The adorable baby Lily on ABC's hit sitcom Modern Family is actually played by twins, Jayden and Ella. Also known as the "Octomom," Nadya is now a busy mother with 14 children. "We've got really normal parents," Jenna said. In an instant, a car accident shattered The Cobles' lives when their three children-Kyle, Emma and Katie-were killed. And then, one year later, a miraculous twist of fate-Lori gave birth to triplets, Ashley, Ellie and Jake!
On November 2, 2010, Latin singing sensation Ricky Martin said his twins, Valentino and Matteo, inspired him to tell the world he is a proud gay man. "I had to because I couldn't take it anymore," he said. "But who gave me that final push was definitely my children, because if I didn't come out for them, what was I going to be teaching them? How to lie? I don't want my family to be based on lies. I want to be transparent to them. I want them to be proud of their dad.
Ethan and Casey Jones had a picture-perfect life: They married right after college, built their dream home and had a beautiful daughter named Eliot. Then, they decided to have one more child using the same fertility treatment they used to conceive Eliot. But, the second time around, the results were a little different. Instead of one baby, they conceived five: Brooklyn, Ryan, Jack, Britton and Lila.
After years of struggling to conceive and a heartbreaking miscarriage, Celine Dion delivered miracle twin boys, Eddy and Nelson, on October 23, 2010. "There's no time left in the day for you to rest, sleep, get ready, look pretty go out," Celine said. "But when you think about it, we wanted those kids so much that it doesn't matter.
