Septuplets' mother has only seen them on TV

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (AP) -- An Egyptian mother of septuplets says she's only seen her babies on TV but hopes to hold them and name them soon.

Nurses attend to the septuplets at a the El-Shatbi Hospital in Alexandria, Egypt.

Ghazala Khamis is still hospitalized after giving birth Saturday to four boys and three girls. She told The Associated Press on Sunday that she's "very anxious to see them" and to breast-feed at least some of them.

She says she's "only watched them on TV" and finds them "very cute."

Her doctor, Emad Darwish, said the babies remained in incubators but were in a good condition. He said they weighed between about three and six pounds.

Khamis took fertility drugs to conceive, and was hospitalized two months ago in Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria. She is already the mother of three girls.

The woman's brother, Khamis Khamis, said Saturday that even though his sister was trying to conceive more children so she could have a son, the family was astonished when they found out she would give birth to multiple babies.

"We thought about an abortion, but then we felt it's religiously forbidden. So we said, 'Let God's will prevail,' " he said.
Egypt's health minister announced that the seven babies would receive free milk and diapers for two years, the brother added.