A 65-year-old teacher from Berlin has given birth to quadruplets, according to German media reports.

Television station RTL says the three boys and a girl were born by caesarean section at a Berlin hospital on Tuesday.

RTL said in a statement that the four newborns stood a strong chance of survival but possible complications could not yet be ruled out because they were born in the 26th week of pregnancy.

The mother, Annegret Raunigk, already had 17 children before deciding to travel abroad to have donated, fertilised eggs implanted.

Her decision prompted criticism from doctors, who questioned whether her body would be physically capable of bearing the children.

RTL spokeswoman Heike Speda told German news agency dpa that the mother was "doing well under the circumstances".