They say good things come in threes, but Stacey Carey's "miracle" came in sixes.
The Pennsylvania mom and husband Brendan welcomed sextuplets into the world last week -- three boys and three girls. In total, 60 people at Abington Memorial Hospital were involved in the cesarean deliveries, which were performed at 27 weeks, according to CNN.
"As the doctors have already explained, the pregnancy and the delivery were very risky and complicated, but with their superior guidance, we made it through, and now we're blessed with six beautiful babies," Stacey Carey said at a Monday press conference. "We already have a 16-month-old daughter, so now our family of nine is complete!"
The six babies -- Emma, Samantha, Olivia, John, Patrick, and Conner -- are all currently in critical condition and remain on ventilator support.
They are "not out of the woods," said Dr. Gerard Cleary. It's "far too early to make predictions," according to Patch editor Mischa Arnosky.
Multi-birth pregnancies often come with high risks including low birth weight, mortality and a greater risk of cerebral palsy. Stacey Carey had undergone fertility treatments and was hospitalized since the 21st week of pregnancy, according to CBS station KWTV.
The risk of multiple births is more than one in three for women who undergo fertility treatments and successfully become pregnant, depending on the type of treatment and other factors, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). Multi-birth greatly increases the risk of premature birth; ASRM reports half of all twins and 90 percent of all triplets are born premature, putting them at an increased risk for infection, brain development problems, cerebral palsy and death.
Multi-births can also increase the mother's risk of pregnancy-related complications, including high blood pressure, gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, according to the March of Dimes.
Pennsylvania is home to another set of sextuplets -- the television-friendly offspring of Jon and Kate Gosselin.
For more information on the risks associated with fertility treatments and multiple births, visit www.marchofdimes.com and www.asrm.org.