A 29-year-old woman gave birth to quadruplets recently in Yichang, Hubei province, according to Beijing Youth Daily.

The woman, surnamed Gao, gave birth to the four babies - two pairs of twins - on Aug 12 at a local hospital.

Li Hua, the doctor in charge of the obstetrics department of the hospital, said it was the first time she saw quadruplets born in the hospital in her career spanning more than two decades.

She said the chances of a woman getting pregnant with twins is about 5 percent, and even lower for quadruplets.

As the four babies were born nearly two months premature, they have been relying on respiratory support. They were not out of danger yet, the doctor said.

The couple reportedly has a tradition of "twins" – the woman's two sisters, as well as her husband and her husband's brother, are twins.