A woman gave birth to six premature babies in Hyderabad on Tuesday, of whom just one had survived until this report was filed at night.

The woman, Rekha, give birth to three girls and as many boys at a hospital run by the Khidmat-i-Khalq Foundation — the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s charity wing, the facility’s additional medical superintendent, Dr Tariq Feroz Memon, told Dawn.com.

He said Rekha, a resident of Umerkot, gave birth to the babies prematurely in the 21st week of her pregnancy at 3am. The infants had low birth weight — which the World Health Organisation defines as less than 5.5 pounds — he added.

The doctor said babies who survive are usually born after 37-38 weeks of pregnancy, adding that five of Rekha’s children had died.

One of them had intrauterine fetal demise — the clinical term for stillbirth — while the other four were gasping and died in a span of two to three hours, he said.

“Just one baby girl has survived who is in critical condition,” he added.