AKRON Oh, baby! 34-person team delivers set of sextuplets

The grandparents operate a fishing shop in Girard.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
AKRON -- A Cuyahoga Falls woman, with family ties in Girard and East Liverpool, gave birth Thursday at Akron General Medical Center to the first set of sextuplets born in Ohio -- three girls and three boys.
Jennifer Hanselman, 29, and her husband, Keith Hanselman, 30, along with son Connor, 2, welcomed their six new family members. The babies were all born at 9:42 a.m.
The father is the son of Bud and Nancy Hanselman of East Liverpool. They and another son, Scott, operate Books and Hooks on Maple Avenue in Girard.
Babies' condition
All of the babies are in critical condition and were transferred to Akron Children's Hospital.
"The mom is in fantastic condition and the babies all seem to be doing well," said Dr. Justin P. Lavin Jr., chief of maternal-fetal medicine at Akron General, who led the 34-person delivery team. "This is absolutely incredible."
"This team worked like clockwork," continued Dr. Anand Kantak medical director of neonatal intensive care unit at Akron Children's Hospital.
Although they had one son, they wanted more children. The went to Dr. Nicholas Spirtos, an Akron fertility specialist.
The delivery team included a perinatologist (physician specializing in high-risk obstetrics), an anesthesiologist, six neonatologists (physicians specializing in the care of high-risk or sick newborns), a senior medical resident in obstetrics and gynecology, three nurse practitioners, 14 registered nurses with two dedicated to the care of the mother and two to each baby, four additional registered nurses to assist with care, four respiratory therapists and two radiology technicians.
C-section delivery
Mrs. Hanselman carried the sextuplets for 28 1/2 weeks and delivered them by Caesarean section. A full-term pregnancy is 37 to 40 weeks. The longest gestation of sextuplets recorded to date is 31 weeks.
"Right now, I am feeling extremely grateful and a little overwhelmed," said the father. "This is like winning the Indianapolis 500 and the Super Bowl all in one day."
Donations for the Hanselman family should be directed to their church, Twin Falls United Methodist Church, 60 North River Road, Munroe Falls, Ohio, (330) 668-5676.
Financial donations to the Hanselman Sextuplet Fund can also be made at any National City Bank branch office.
XTim Yovich of the Niles bureau contributed to this story.