Five baby girls are born in London on 13 November 1969. The birth makes 33-year-old Irene Hanson and her 35-year-old husband John the parents of the first quintuplets in the United Kingdom to survive birth.
The children are born at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital by Caesarean section. They arrive around two months prematurely, at 31 weeks of gestation, with the births of all five girls completed within approximately four minutes.
Five Sisters with Five Different Names
In order of birth, the girls are named Joan Leslie, Nicola Jane, Julie Ann, Sarah Louise and Jacqueline Mary. The family lives in Rayleigh, Essex, and the news quickly attracts the attention of the British and international press.
The Associated Press reports immediately after the birth that doctors are “a little concerned” about the condition of one of the girls. The concern is related to the premature birth, but all five children are described as surviving quintuplets in the United Kingdom.
Birth Following Fertility Treatment
Irene Hanson has been taking fertility-stimulating medication. At the time, the birth of quintuplets who survived was an extremely rare event, and the medical team had to care for five premature babies simultaneously.
The story of the Hanson family continues to be followed after the girls are discharged from hospital. In March 1970, the five sisters are christened at the parish church in Rayleigh in a ceremony attended by around 200 relatives and friends.
With their birth, Joan, Nicola, Julie, Sarah and Jacqueline go down in history as the first surviving quintuplets in the United Kingdom and as one of the few all-female sets of quintuplets to survive the early period after birth.
Sources: news.bbc.co.uk, newspapers.swco.ttu.edu, superstock.com