Sextuplet baby boy loses his fight for life

ONE of the sextuplets born at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford died yesterday, Max Clifford, the family's spokesman, said last night.

The six – four girls and two boys – were born last Friday to Andy and Vicky Lamb, both 31, from Oxford.

One of the boys died yesterday morning, Mr Clifford said.

Delivered 14 weeks early, a representative of the family said the babies remained in a critical condition yesterday. Their mother is said to be recovering well.

The six were born at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford shortly after 11pm last Friday. Their birth weights ranged from 1lb 5oz (590g) to 1lb 15oz (885g), the hospital said.

In a TV interview, Mr Clifford had said earlier that Mr and Mrs Lamb were hoping that everything would be okay and were "praying for a small miracle".

The babies are being monitored at the John Radcliffe's neonatal intensive care unit.

Live births of sextuplets are rare, occurring approximately once in every 4.5 million pregnancies.

According to the Multiple Births Foundation charity, the last surviving set of sextuplets in Britain were born in 1993.