A woman has given birth to rare quintuplets in Ethiopia's Harari Regional state after 12 years of trying for a baby.

Bedriya Adem said she and her husband were "overjoyed" to be "blessed with five children at once".

The 35-year-old delivered four boys and a girl, all of whom are in "full health", at the Hiwot Fana Specialised Hospital, the hospital said.

"I cannot express my happiness in words," she told the BBC, recalling how she was "filled with depression and pain" until her prayers were answered.

Hospital medical director Dr Mohammed Nur Abdulahi said the mother and babies remained under medical care at the hospital. The babies weighed between 1.3 and 1.4kg (3lb).

He told the BBC that newborns who weigh more than a kilogram have a high chance of survival and healthy growth.

The doctor told the BBC that Bedriya had conceived naturally, without the aid of in vitro fertilisation (IVF), which the hospital does not offer.

IVF can increase the chance of multiple births if more than one embryo can be transferred.

The chance of conceiving quintuplets naturally is about one in 55 million.

| Hiwot Fana Specialised Hospital (Pic): Bedriya is "overjoyed" with her five babies, which she calls "blessings"

The doctor said the birth had been through Caesarean on Tuesday evening. 

"She received regular medical care during her pregnancy and was informed that she had conceived more than one baby. She had full and proper medical assistance throughout," Mohammed said, as he described her "excitement".

Bedriya said she had initially been told she was pregnant with four babies, but when she gave birth, there was one more.

"I prayed for just one child, and Allah gave me five," she said, talking about how she felt during her "long wait".

The first-time mother said her husband already had a child from another marriage, who lived with them.

"He used to tell me that having [the other child] was enough and that I should not worry, but deep inside I was suffering - psychologically and emotionally - as the entire village questioned my inability to give birth," she said.

"What I endured in the past feels like a distant dream, one I do not even want to recall," she added. 

"I spent 12 years in pain, hiding myself, and praying constantly for children - at last, Allah heard me."

She said that she was a subsistence farmer and was not sure how she would provide for her newly enlarged family. "But I believe Allah will provide, through the support of my community and the government."

Their "five blessings" have been named Naif, Ammar, Munzir, Nazira, and Ansar.